would it be cruel to have a pen of roosters and a pen of hens?

[GoldenSparrow]

Ok all ,I have 6 hens, and 3 roosters. I know its a horrible ratio

I really dont want to give away my roos. but I dont think I can get any more hens either.

would it be cruel to have a pen of roosters, and a pen of hens?

the roos all together
one of my roosters is 4years old. the other two are not even a year.

Please tell me what you think I should do????????

Thanks all

 

[chicmom]

Not cruel at all. I know a few people who have a "bachelor coop" and chicken run for their roosters. If you don't have any hens in there, my friend said they really don't fight. Nothing to fight over.

Maybe you could leave just one rooster (the oldest if he's gentle with the girls) in the coop to be the hen's guardian......If they get to free range, usually a rooster is nice to have because they keep a good watch over the flock.

Sharon

 

[GoldenSparrow]

Thanks, I just dident want the roos to stress

from seeing the hens, but not being with them.

if all my hens wore hen saddles (the 6 hens) do you think I could put my big roo with them?

 

[bobbi-j]

I wouldn't put saddles on them. If they show signs of feather loss, put him in with the other roosters. It is nice if you can free range him with your hens, but not necessary. Hens do learn to adapt and protect themselves. They may not fight off a predator like a rooster will, but do manage to sense danger and head for cover.

 

[Lollipop]

Quote:
Put the oldest rooster with the hens and keep the youngsters seperate. Probably the youngsters that are causing the problem anyway. You should also baracade the boys so they can`t see the hens as that can cause problems also. Hen saddles should only be used in extreme cases as they are more trouble than they are worth........Pop


Edited for one more thing: You`re gonna find that keeping the boys seperated is gonna be a real hassle after a while. Be aware that once they are seperated it`s not easy to put them back with the other rooster as they will fight for dominance. They will act just like strangers and get at it.

 

[TinyTotsSeramas]

Not cruel at all! I have a boy's pen and a girls pen for my Serama! But you do want to watch them for fighting or aggressive behavior that could lead to fighting! I have lost 2 Serama roos to them fighting an almost lost my d'Uccle an OEGB roo to fighting (even though those 2 are in with 14 RSL girls... They still want to fight)

 

[GoldenSparrow]

wait whats wrong with hen saddles?

 

[tsmith1499]

Your ratio is better than mine. I have 3 Roo's and 4 girls. 3 Silkie Roo's. 2 Silkie girls and 2 Bantam Cohin girls. So far they are all getting along fine with only the occasional dust up. But I have also been told that Silkie Roo's are more tolerable of each other than some of the other breed Roo's. I could be wrong, but based on my limited Chicken and Silkie experience, I am finding this true. I had thought about seperating them but if they're getting along I don't see any reason to.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

The roosters and hens SHOULD be separated unless you follow the recommended ratio of 1 roo to 8 or 10 hens. The roos gang up on ONE hen, mating with her consecutively, and the poor thing tries to run away.

Seen it with my own eyes, with my precious little bantams after reading all the warnings on here about it...thought not my chickens. Boy was I wrong. Too many roos leads to unhappy and possibly injured hens.

It is very wise to keep all the boys in a pen, and choose one boy to run with the hens at a time.

You can rotate which boy goes in with the girls, to give them all a chance to breed.

And I have had one roo in with 5 hens before. They were overbred and would have needed saddles had I kept them. So yes, saddles might be needed in your situation unless you get more hens. You can wait and see???

Oh and I also agree with bobbi-j in that sometimes it is just good to give the hens a break and remove the rooster.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
I asked a silkie breeder about this not too long ago. She said that she keeps at most one roo with 5 hens. And yes, I have also heard that silkie roos sometimes get along better with the other silkie roos.

I agree- if there is no problem, there is no need to break up the group (just watch for potential problems IMO).