4 roosters... 8 hens. Oh no! Help what to do?/Advice

[Mayettachickens]

My chicks are now 10 weeks old.... 4 I am pretty sure are cockerels. The other 8 are pullets. 2 "roo" in the morning. My family and I love them dearly. We could not eat them or sell them.
Currently adding finishing touches to our main coop. All of our chickens are in their now and come out during the day into a fenced area.
Any advice on what to do now with my 4 roosters. They are still young so I am hoping to find a solution as soon as possible before possible fighting. Our breeds of roos are 2 Barred rocks and 2 Americana. We all spend time with them about an hour a day too, the roos are probably the most friendly of the bunch. LOVE LAPS.

Is there not a way for them all to be together? Like will a pecking order be established?
Does each rooster need to be separated from one another?
If they need to be separated, when should that happen?

Please any advice thank you. This is our first time having chickens too.

 

[LRH97]

You do not need to keep them separate. Roos that grow up together generally don't get into major battles too often. You can even introduce young cockerels to older roos as long you do it before they reach sexual maturity. They will sort out the pecking order as normal and will quickly find out who is boss. I currently have four roos with my 40 hens. The three younger roos do not DARE crow or mate with hens in front of my top roo. Another thing you want with multiple roos is space. Say a fight does break out. The losing roo needs a place to get away. One of my friends lost a roo to a fight. He found it in a corner dead (the loser roo evidently got trapped in the corner and got flogged and pecked to death by his bigger roo. The rooster that killed the other was very aggressive and hated everything and everyone, by the way) I'm not saying it can't be done, but I've never had success introducing new adult roos to other adult roos who are "strangers" to each other. HOWEVER, 4 roos to 8 hens is really too much. If you absolutely can not get rid of some, I suggest bumping up your hen number. 1 roo to every 10 hens is optimum. You don't want to stress your girls too much with over-mating which happens when you have too many boys. You could also keep one roo with the hens and keep the rest completely separate from the girls. If you can't have any more hens or build a separate pen, I strongly suggest trying to re-home/sell some of your cockerels. Roosters can be a pleasure to own, but they also have the potential to be very big problems.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Most people can't sell cockerels, they have to be free to have people take them. Four cockerels is asking for trouble, you really should relocate two if not three of them. Once they hit sexual maturity in another two months you'll find which ones are going to be jerks, a few may challenge you, and getting rid of them will be very easy in your mind then.

 

[Mayettachickens]

Thanks for the advice. Really appreciate it. Looks like looking for new homes for a few is in order. Sad day

 

[Toddrick]

I hatched out some eggs and wound up with four males, and three females total. (Next time I doing sex links!) What to do with the cockerels became a stressful situation. I wound up being forced to cull one of them, and expending a great deal of energy convincing my sister to take two of them (I guess I got lucky that one froze to death, so she then took a replacement, or I would've had to cull another), and I kept one. Too much darn stress.

I must say that they got along well, being raised together. My biggest problem was over mating of the pullets. Their poor backs are still bare.

 

[keesmom]

My chicks are now 10 weeks old.... 4 I am pretty sure are cockerels. The other 8 are pullets. 2 "roo" in the morning. My family and I love them dearly. We could not eat them or sell them.
Currently adding finishing touches to our main coop. All of our chickens are in their now and come out during the day into a fenced area.
Any advice on what to do now with my 4 roosters. They are still young so I am hoping to find a solution as soon as possible before possible fighting. Our breeds of roos are 2 Barred rocks and 2 Americana. We all spend time with them about an hour a day too, the roos are probably the most friendly of the bunch. LOVE LAPS.

You may not love them so much when they hit maturity. There is no guarantee they will stay nice. If you absolutely can't part with them you could build a bachelor pad out of sight of the hens.

You should think about why you are keeping chickens though. If just for eggs you don't even need a rooster. If you have young kids I would suggest you not keep one, especially since this is your first experience with chickens. Roosters are pretty and can be entertaining, but they can also be a major pain in the butt.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Cockerel are normally your favorites when young. The males have more curiosity and instinctively check things out. A part of a rooster’s duties is to investigate strange things to see if they are safe or if they pose a danger to the flock. Males are the ones with personality so of course they are your favorites.

Just a few days ago I had a 17 week old cockerel kill another cockerel it hatched with and grew up with and I have lots of room. That’s the first time that has ever happened to me but it certainly can happen. Normally with lots of room they work it out but not always.

My advice is always to keep as few roosters as you can and still meet your goals. That’s not because you are guaranteed to have problems with more roosters, just that it is more likely. Unless you have a strong reason to keep them, the best number for you may be zero.

If you do want to keep them or some of them, you can keep one with the hens if you wish and lock the others in a bachelor pad. With no hens around to stir them up they will probably work out a pecking order and do fine by themselves. Many people are successful doing that but living animals don’t come with guarantees. Anything can happen.

 

[Mrs. K]

Enjoy them while you can. Hormones are powerful thing, and the chicken brain is quite small. As ridge runner says, the traits that makes you love them now, are being totally misinterpreted from the chicken view point. What you see as friendliness, the roosters see as submission. When you let them sit on your lap, they see that you accept their dominance. For now, they will preen and love the attention. There are some roosters that work well, but it is a crap shoot, and a lot of roosters are not safe to keep close to people, especially small children once they reach sexual maturity and you need a realistic plan for them.

Personally, I think you get the best roosters when roosters are raised in a multi-generational flock, the older hens and the head rooster keep them under control, they are not the biggest thing in the coop, and the bigger birds will thump some manners into them. They are not allowed to breed, or have to sneak it, and they are submissive to the bigger birds.

What often happens with roosters raised by first time owners, is that they are flock mates. The roosters start to get bigger than the pullets, and the hormones kick in, and they are out of control, because there is nothing bigger than them to control them. The sexual act is a very violent act, as the pullets are not ready, and the roosters can't wait. But another thing happens, due to their size, they are a bully, and they often become very aggressive with the pullets, and in keeping people away from the pullets, and with each other. The coop can become a very violent stressful place.

Often times posted on here, are nearly countless posts were the darling became a nightmare in an instant. Generally speaking, roosters that are pets are not afraid of people. This is behavior that we want with dogs and cats, but roosters and chickens equate fear with respect. Personally, I want my rooster to keep 5 feet between me and him, he needs to give me that space as a token of respect to me. Many first time chicken people do not recognize the signs of aggression until the attack. They are there, most of the time, but it takes experience to recognize them.

If I am asked, I recommend only hens for a year or too, if you have small children, I would not have a rooster until they are 6 years old, a full grown rooster flying into a small child's face with his feet and spurs stretched out is not away to make kids like birds. You have years to enjoy this hobby, do it in stages. If you want chicks you can order them or buy them at the feed store in the spring. Take your time to develop this hobby, you can have it for years.

If you decide to keep them, I think that you are trying to be proactive, you need to be VERY AWARE of the roosters behavior, and you need to have a plan for aggressive roosters to protect people and the other birds in the flock. However, I am thinking that you were hoping that there was a trick that we could share that would allow you to keep all those birds in harmony. As AArt often says, roosters are where the romance of keeping chickens faces the reality. Wishful thinking that this could work, won't do it. The other respected posters on this forum agree, that 4 roosters in that set up, is much more likely not to work, than it is going to work.

Mrs K

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Enjoy them while you can. Hormones are powerful thing, and the chicken brain is quite small. As ridge runner says, the traits that makes you love them now, are being totally misinterpreted from the chicken view point. What you see as friendliness, the roosters see as submission. When you let them sit on your lap, they see that you accept their dominance. For now, they will preen and love the attention.

Personally, I think you get the best roosters when roosters are raised in a multi-generational flock, the older hens and the head rooster keep them under control, they are not the biggest thing in the coop, and the bigger birds will thump some manners into them. They are not allowed to breed, or have to sneak it, and they are submissive to the bigger birds. What often happens with roosters raised by first time owners, is that they are flock mates. The roosters start to get bigger than the pullets, and the hormones kick in, and they are out of control, because there is nothing bigger than them to control them. The sexual act is a very violent act, as the pullets are not ready, and the roosters can't wait. But another thing happens, due to their size, they are a bully, and they often become very aggressive with the pullets, and in keeping people away from the pullets, and with each other. The coop can become a very violent stressful place.

Often times posted on here, are nearly countless posts were the darling became a nightmare in an instant. Generally speaking, roosters that are pets are not afraid of people. This is behavior that we want with dogs and cats, but roosters and chickens equate fear with respect. Personally, I want my rooster to keep 5 feet between me and him, he needs to give me that space as a token of respect to me. Many first time chicken people do not recognize the signs of aggression until the attack. They are there, most of the time, but it takes experience to recognize them.

If I am asked, I recommend only hens for a year or too, if you have small children, I would not have a rooster until they are 6 years old, a full grown rooster flying into a small child's face with his feet and spurs stretched out is not away to make kids like birds.

If you decide to keep them, I think that you are trying to be proactive, you need to be VERY AWARE of the roosters behavior. However, I am thinking that you were hoping that there was a trick that we could share that would allow you to keep all those birds in harmony. As AArt often says, roosters are where the romance of keeping chickens faces the reality. Wishful thinking that this could work, won't do it. The other respected posters on this forum agree, that 4 roosters in that set up, is much more likely not to work, than it is going to work.

Mrs K

A big ol' "DITTO" to all of this - so much would be gained if people were to understand communication from the perspective of the species they are dealing with rather than looking at it through a human lens .

 

[bobbi-j]

Enjoy them while you can.  Hormones are powerful thing, and the chicken brain is quite small. As ridge runner says, the traits that makes you love them now, are being totally misinterpreted from the chicken view point. What you see as friendliness, the roosters see as submission. When you let them sit on your lap, they see that you accept their dominance. For now, they will preen and love the attention. There are some roosters that work well, but it is a crap shoot, and a lot of roosters are not safe to keep close to people, especially small children once they reach sexual maturity and you need a realistic plan for them.

Personally, I think you get the best roosters when roosters are raised in a multi-generational flock, the older hens and the head rooster keep them under control, they are not the biggest thing in the coop, and the bigger birds will thump some manners into them. They are not allowed to breed, or have to sneak it, and they are submissive to the bigger birds.

What often happens with roosters raised by first time owners, is that they are flock mates. The roosters start to get bigger than the pullets, and the hormones kick in, and they are out of control, because there is nothing bigger than them to control them. The sexual act is a very violent act, as the pullets are not ready, and the roosters can't wait. But another thing happens, due to their size, they are a bully, and they often become very aggressive with the pullets, and in keeping people away from the pullets, and with each other. The coop can become a very violent stressful place.

Often times posted on here, are nearly countless posts were the darling became a nightmare in an instant. Generally speaking, roosters that are pets are not afraid of people. This is behavior that we want with dogs and cats, but roosters and chickens equate fear with respect. Personally, I want my rooster to keep 5 feet between me and him, he needs to give me that space as a token of respect to me. Many first time chicken people do not recognize the signs of aggression until the attack. They are there, most of the time, but it takes experience to recognize them.

If I am asked, I recommend only hens for a year or too, if you have small children, I would not have a rooster until they are 6 years old, a full grown rooster flying into a small child's face with his feet and spurs stretched out is not away to make kids like birds. You have years to enjoy this hobby, do it in stages. If you want chicks you can order them or buy them at the feed store in the spring. Take your time to develop this hobby, you can have it for years.

If you decide to keep them, I think that you are trying to be proactive, you need to be VERY AWARE of the roosters behavior, and you need to have a plan for aggressive roosters to protect people and the other birds in the flock. However, I am thinking that you were hoping that there was a trick that we could share that would allow you to keep all those birds in harmony. As AArt often says, roosters are where the romance of keeping chickens faces the reality. Wishful thinking that this could work, won't do it. The other respected posters on this forum agree, that 4 roosters in that set up, is much more likely not to work, than it is going to work.

Mrs K

Agreed. Mrs. K and Ridgerunner are very experienced in poultry and know what they're talking about.