A third rooster?!

[Robin_Hood]

So I have 19 hens and 2 roosters, they free range on a large area of land and have a big shed to sleep in. The roosters are father and son, they get jealous at times and push each other off hens but have never been aggressive beyond those tiny squabbles. Recently I saw for sale some rare and beautiful Ayam Cemanis, which are only available in trios; do you think my established roosters will react with violence towards a potential newcomer? Or is harmony possible with a careful introduction?

NB the Ayam Cerami are only a few months old so not mature. Also, 8 of my 19 hens are silkies which are really a flock within a flock, they are never bullied by the bigger hens or mounted by the roosters. The two roosters normally form their own factions with the other 11 hens and go their separate ways, leaving the silkies unattended. So my concern is that they may be preyed upon by a buzzard or fox (I would keep them inside but this seems cruel) which is another reason I'm half-considering a third rooster.

Thoughts/Experience/Opinions/Warnings anyone?
Thanks!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

You can try, but i don't think it will work well. The flock is already established and the best time to introduce males is as chicks so they grow up in the flock with the current males. That way the males can accept the new boys and show that they are the ones in charge.

Otherwise you'll get fighting which may or may not resolve itself safely

 

[Aunt Angus]

And, boy howdy, young cockerels are ALL hormones and can be stupid aggressive.

Can you keep the AC as a separate flock? It sounds like you have the room.

Alternatively, if you are just wanting them for yard candy and not for breeding, you could buy them and keep the pullets and sell the cockerel. Or even find someone to "split" the trio with you before buying. They're in demand. Might not be hard to find takers.

 

[Robin_Hood]

You can try, but i don't think it will work well. The flock is already established and the best time to introduce males is as chicks so they grow up in the flock with the current males. That way the males can accept the new boys and show that they are the ones in charge.

Otherwise you'll get fighting which may or may not resolve itself safely

Was thinking it'd maybe be too much of a risk, although i could always keep the new trio separate from the main flock ie different sleeping spots. I don't think there'd be a need for fighting when outside due to the amount of space?

 

[Robin_Hood]

And, boy howdy, young cockerels are ALL hormones and can be stupid aggressive.

Can you keep the AC as a separate flock? It sounds like you have the room.

Alternatively, if you are just wanting them for yard candy and not for breeding, you could buy them and keep the pullets and sell the cockerel. Or even find someone to "split" the trio with you before buying. They're in demand. Might not be hard to find takers.

Yes was just thinking that I could house them separately if needs be, if they had separate sleeping quarters would it be okay to let them all outside together? They'd likely cross paths from time to time but would they have a need to fight if out in the open?

Wouldn't normally try and introduce unnecessary hassle to the flock, but they're such beautiful birds!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

The fact that there are females is enough. The males will likely intermingle trying to woo more females into their flocks

 

[chickengr]

too much risk for a rare breed roo. not impossible but it is not likely they will get along.

 

[Mrs. K]

The more roosters you have, the greater the chance of it not working.

 

[bobbi-j]

If there are going to be problems (and chances are good it will happen), it will most likely be during the day when they’re all out and about. Chickens are inactive at night. If it were me, and I really, really wanted these birds, I’d have them fenced and housed separately from the other flock. Always. As Mrs. K said, the more roosters you have, the more likely you are to have problems.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Was thinking it'd maybe be too much of a risk, although i could always keep the new trio separate from the main flock ie different sleeping spots. I don't think there'd be a need for fighting when outside due to the amount of space?

While having a lot of room would be to your benefit, the "need" is that they have to decide which one is dominant. That could mean a fight to the death or, like your other two, they could reach some accommodation. Often the boys establish their own territory and attract which girls they can but sometimes they find other ways. And sometimes chickens die or are seriously injured. A lot depends on the individual personalities of the boys.

If your Silkies aren't attracted to the other two roosters why do you think they'd be attracted to a third? I personally don't consider a rooster with the flock to be that much of a protection against predators. I've lost chickens to dogs, foxes, owls, and hawks. The dominant rooster did not stop any of these predators and was not injured. Mine try to lead the flock to safety instead of fighting a rearguard action. If something is suspicious a rooster will often get between whatever that is and the hens to check it out so they can be picked off. It's not that they are fighting the predator so much as they get just are a little more exposed. Most critters that get chickens are ambush predators so the hen is gone before the rooster knows hat is going on. I personally don't count on a rooster to keep them safe.

The AC trio are probably too old to be raised as members of the flock but are still immature juveniles. You can still integrate them but especially with the boy it becomes a little harder. Still people integrate them all the time. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

You can always try. It might work out, it might not. I generally suggest you go by what you see rather than what some stranger over the internet like me tells you that you will see. Free ranging gives you a lot better chance than people that have limited space. Having a different place to have for them to sleep separately is a benefit but some times they can share sleeping space. You never know how it work will work out when you deal with living animals, anything can happen. When you free range your chickens are at risk to predators, with or without a rooster. When you try to integrate anything can happen. It may be an unbelievable success or abject failure.