What to do if you have two Cockerels

[Mom 2em All]

yours are too young to have hit puberty. the squabbles and comb-biting start in a few more weeks, but its not real serious until later. Months later. THEN it becomes the real deal.
I am a rooster magnet. I am rehoming a bunch tomorrow. It makes me sad, but I already went through the too many rooster not enough hens bs. I had fifteen hens and couldnt have two roosters. Much less seven.

 

[VioletsMom73]

Sounds fun! Definitely post pics! I think each flock is different with different personalities and dynamics without totally set universal sales. so do what works for you and your birdies, I’m glad you do have a plan B however if the two boys don’t work out. Best of luck! I hope u can keep both!

Thank you! I hope so too!

 

[VioletsMom73]

yours are too young to have hit puberty. the squabbles and comb-biting start in a few more weeks, but its not real serious until later. Months later. THEN it becomes the real deal.
I am a rooster magnet. I am rehoming a bunch tomorrow. It makes me sad, but I already went through the too many rooster not enough hens bs. I had fifteen hens and couldnt have two roosters. Much less seven.

Oh wow! That’s a lot of roosters!

 

[ilfordcurly]

I had two roosters and live in an urban area so I am not allowed them. They both had collars. They competed with each other vocally so I had to move one and the other one was much quieter.
So now I have lots of babies and I am building up my flock which is lovely. So what to do with the roosters?
I am a softie so I have a rooster flock at the other end of my yard, eight in there so far.

 

[flygirl1973]

I have 2 flock mate Roos, just over a year old now. We started out with 5 but between giving one away, one got killed in the small coop and just free range attrition, we ended up a year later with 2 boys and 3 girls. There is definitely an Alpha and Beta. Obviously 3 hens isn’t enough but the only problem we had was 2 girls got rode close to baldness Before I got the saddles on them. We had previously gotten 5 more chicks when the numbers were dwindling last year (free range with a new flock that has no one to learn from) and Beta made his own flock with the new girls- still no issues with the 2 small flocks living in the same small coop. Fast forward another 7 months and we have 10 new chicks with our original 5 flock. Couple weeks ago we had a change of power and Beta beat the snot out of Alpha but because being free range they have room to run and generally don’t seem to kill each other. But he looked rotten for about a week and his demeanor completely changed. He’s currently a bit of an outlier, not with the young chicks (although he sleeps inside the coop with them) and usually found just outside the adult flock during the day. One hen has remained loyal to him though and can be found paling (sp?) around with him. So it’s possible to keep them both if free ranging is an option. The only time one got killed for sure by another male was inside the coop when he couldn't’ get away. I wish you the best, they are all entertaining.
The Roos can get very protective of their girls and while docile and friendly now, may see you as part of his flock and try to side step you to where he wants you to go. If you feed treats - and dont’ give him the first one he will see you as a threat And trying to lure his girls away. They have a tendency to attack when you are occupied or have your back turned. There are people who tell you to get rid of them at that point, but I’m still only at my first year and we dont’ have kids. So we manage. If you keep his alpha role in tact you should be able to have a compatible relationship with them. Every once in a while we have to remind our boy (either one) that we are not to be trifled with. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Samoeng Guy]

I really hope they can, and thank you for giving me hope!

I have 7 roosters, 2 Polish, 3 mini cochin, 2 silkie, and 11 hens, 2 polish, 5 Silkies, 3 mini cochins and 1 thai rescue hen.
the roosters are a handful, the mini cochins always want to fight. But my wife wouldn’t ever let one go to another home for fear it wouldn’t be treated properly, and I agree, so it’s pretty noisy around here, but it’s wonderful music. Depends on your point of view I guess.
keep your roosters and work it out. They’ll probably be okay if raised together.
have fun ! If that’s the worst thing in your life, you’re ok !

 

[ariri30]

And there’s nothing more charming than a rooster whose found some choice dirt for his ladies in a yard full of dirt...but this dirt is like, the best dirt




And I don’t know if this is common but my roosters will get in nesting boxes when my hens about to lay to show her where the best nesting box is and he makes little happy rooster noises while he’s nesting

Adorable. I have a giant rooster that squeezes in tiny places with hens to wait for them to lay an egg and then the chicken song starts. He’s nuts!

 

[wolfinator]

Ive had good and bad experiences with raising multiple roosters together, here's some of my experiences. I now have 6 roosters ranging from 1 yr up to just over 3 yrs that usually get along. I've had as many as 11 roosters at one time but they were divided between 4 pens including an all rooster pen that had 5 in it. Now, 3 of them were bantams that mostly got along until the #2 attacked and severely injured the oldest and he was removed to my pullet pen. The rooster was healing, getting feathers back, strutting around but 6 weeks later died. He was 5 yrs old so between age and injuries, I think it was both that caused his death. They were raised together for 2 yrs with no problems until then and even added a 3rd bantam rooster still with no problems. I only have large breed now. I did have 7 until a neighbor was given 18 2 yr old hens and a 4 month old cockerel that they picked on. He knew I had multiple roosters and asked if he could get one. I love all my boys and really didn't want to give up any but since I had 2 RIR boys, I chose the lower ranking one to give him. That has unbalanced the ranks where they normally get along, I'm now seeing fighting between lowere ranking 2 boys. My typically docile buff Orpington has been constantly attacking my Cuckoo Marans. The duo, I'm guessing are fighting over who's going to take over the RIR's rank. They don't fight daily but did the 1st week after the other rooster left, now maybe a couple times a week and are shorter in duration. If they get too aggressive, I will step in to break them up, check for injuries and doctor them if needed. It sounds cruel but they are establishing the pecking order so fighting is normal. My alpha rooster has also stepped in to break them up. Oh, the neighbor said both the rooster I gave him and the cockerel are getting along well, the hens have even stopped picking on the little guy too. He knows if ever needed, I'll take my boy back (and the others he has), wouldn't be the first time he's given me all his chickens.

Overall in the end, it's a personal choice as to whether or not you want 2 roosters. Also it depends on how many hens you have. I think it 8-10 hens per rooster. I had 75 chickens with 7 being roosters at one time, I've lost quite a few hens to various problems since, some I had to put down due to injuries and have 45 hens now but with 6 roosters (i know, not a good ratio). I even have 5 ducks and 3 ducklings with the chickens in same pen.

Most of my mixed flock (with 7th rooster). Roosters are marked with dot.

 

[drjulian]

I had THREE roosters from one hatching...all brothers...all born and raised together. They got along fine for the first few months but once they matured it was a different story. Two of them would hang out together with the girls and they would gang up on the third...chasing him...attacking him and if he went near one of the girls he was in big trouble. They were also over-mounting the hens to the point where the girls had no feathers on their back. The two became a small gang terrorizing so I decided I had to make a change. My first thought was to keep the most aggressive of the three figuring he would be a good protector, but as I thought more and more I was concerned his habit of mounting the hens too often would only get worse when he was alone. I finally got rid of the two aggressive bothers (gave them away) and kept the one that had been abused and outcast. The good news is he has become a different rooster now that he is in charge. His whole life has changed as well as the dynamic of the flock. He watches over the flock and has really come into his own. I am certain the decision was correct.

After this I have come to the conclusion that one rooster is the right number (for a flock of our size, a total a dozen birds). Even if multiple roosters seem to get along their natural instincts will ultimately prove to be very stressful and maybe even dangerous to the hens, risking the potential of injury.

In future if I end up with more then one rooster I will take action more quickly and reduce the male population to one.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

I have a rooster flock of 6 right now. It's was 11 - lost a couple, rehomed a couple. They're about three years old right now. They were not all raised together, but were introduced when they were young.

I never thought roosters could co-exist peacefully. Everything you read is about what jerks they are, how they'll fight to the death over hens and territory. And while some of can be true, it really boils down to the personality of the individual birds and your setup.

Sure, my boys squabble, but it's not generally serious. I haven't had to step in in a couple of years. Sure, they occasionally try to mount each other, which can lead to some dinged up combs, but they get along more often than they don't.

If you want to keep your boys, great! Go for it. We're here to help. If you only want to keep one, that's okay, too.