Introduced 3 two month old roosters to my flock… chasing hens away from food, water and even the coop.

[Feathers_and_Shells]

Hello! We’re pretty new to having chickens. And this forum always has amazing information.

We’ve had chickens for a little less than a year. We raised up 9 hens and 1 rooster from chicks (all together). One hen and the rooster were old English game bantams (or silver duckwing bantams). The Rooster was an absolute gem. He was a totally gentlemen.

Unfortunately, he passed away while protecting the flock from a hawk. He did however fertilize some of our regular sized hens and we incubated the eggs. We got 3 chicks! Which was a great experience but all 3 happened to be cockerels.

We want to keep all 3 if possible.

After our first rooster died, the hens kinda started picking on each other way more. Sparse feathers and bald spots and they got really skittish even around me. We figured it’s because they were accustomed to being taken care of by a good rooster since the beginning. So we wanted to get another rooster for them.

The 3 roosters we hatched are now 2 months old (definitely bantam size) and we did the “see-no-touch” method of introducing. But we only did it for 2 days. And then put them in the coop last night so they woke up with each other. It’s the first day. The 3 rooster are sticking together and kinda taking over territory above the hens. They chase the hens away from the food and water in the run and even preventing them from going into the coop sometimes. Like they’re claiming territory and leaving the hens out of it.

People have claimed they’ve kept multiple roosters with a small amount of hens so I guess we’re trying to do that too.

I greatly appreciate anyone’s input.

Are the roosters too immature? Did we not do the “see-no-touch” method long enough? Should I make a bachelor pad and wait until they’re more mature (like 5-6 months old) and then introduce them? Or just give it a couple days?

Thank you!

 

[nuthatched]

The hens should be whooping them, not the other way around.
An issue might have been that they were too old for the hens to raise when introduced. I'm not sure how to fix this but it's unlikely to get better from further seperation.

 

[Mrs. K]

Pictures of your set up would help us help you.

While I understand your attachment to all three cockerels the reality of them is the more you have the greater the chance of it going wrong. Like it is now.

Generally speaking, when it goes wrong something has to change. Are all three doing this, or is it two, with one just watching?

I too would expect them to be getting short end of the stick, so it must be something else. Pictures often show something the OP overlooks.

Mrs K

 

[BigBlueHen53]

we did the “see-no-touch” method of introducing. But we only did it for 2 days

I would think this is part of the problem. I feel that two weeks is much better than two days. But generally, it is the existing flock that beats up on the newcomers, not the other way around, as you're experiencing. So more time separated probably wouldn't help. At 8 weeks I'm surprised they are dominating the older hens. As nuthatched says, the hens should be teaching them manners! It just sounds as if these are some unusually dominant or even aggressive little cockerels. It may be best to set up a bachelor pen to keep them in until they mature - which may be 8 to 10 months or older, not 5 to 6 months, IMO. But frankly, I wouldn't normally expect to see bratty, hormonal behavior like this until they were 4 months old or so, so they may not outgrow this. Others may not agree with me, and that won't hurt my feelings. I could certainly be wrong here.

 

[Perris]

It’s the first day.

So it's much too early to be speculating about flock dynamics. Just stand back and observe for another couple of days. If it is still an issue, come back to us, with photos of your set up and your birds.

 

[Altairsky]

From my personal experience, 3 brothers with 9 hens is asking for trouble.
Males tend to form a gang, where 1 of them is dominant and the others are minions.
When a male decides to take over a flock of hens, he will teach the hens he's the boss, and he might even draw blood in the process if some hens resist. This is normal.
If you have multiple males, they will gang up on whoever hen the dominant cockerel is fighting. It's brutal. With just 9 hens, you should chose the cockerel that has the best personality and let the others go, for the sake of your hens.