Rooster invasion

[Books and Chickens]

Hi!

I got several pullets from Wilco last spring/summer, and TWO of the them turned out to be roosters. I already had (and still have) two excellent roosters, so I really don’t need these extra guys.

I would eat them (heartless though it sounds) but my mom and sister won’t stand for it.

All my chickens live together. 4 roosters, 22 hens. Same fence, same coop. The coop is quite small, but the fenced area is spacious.

So far, everything SEEMS to be all right, though I have noticed what appears to be feather pecking on a few of the hens recently.

I still plan to rehome the two new roosters, but my question is basically this: is there any safety benefit to having 4 roosters? Meaning, against predators? We live in a high predator area (raccoons, hawks, owls, and an insane amount of coyotes). If a predator arrives, is it normal for the roosters to help each other? Can I expect any valorous deeds from my two young ones or will they likely let the old guard handle everything?

Thanks!

 

[AGeese]

You have enough birds it's probably ok for now if the two new ones are cockrells, but once they're mature there will be competition. You have a large enough flock for 2 roosters. I'd process or rehome the ones that aren't your favored.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined!

my question is basically this: is there any safety benefit to having 4 roosters? Meaning, against predators?

Not in my opinion. Each situation is different. Occasionally a rooster will attack a predator to defend his hens. But I find that to be rare. What I often see is that he is a pretty good lookout and will alert the flock if he sees something suspicious. Once a threat is established he is much more likely to try to lead the flock to safety than to sacrifice himself for the flock.

If he is suspicious but no real threat has been identified he will sometimes alert the hens so they gather and put himself between the hens and the possible threat. These do risk themselves to define the threat but do not intend to sacrifice themselves.

If a predator arrives, is it normal for the roosters to help each other?

I've seen them work together to guard the hens. An example, when I open the pop door the dominant rooster is probably the first one out of the pop door. The submissive one is probably the last one out. The first is checking things out while the other is guarding the rear. Or if they are frightened back inside the coop the two roosters were at the pop door both looking outside watching for the threat.

Can I expect any valorous deeds from my two young ones or will they likely let the old guard handle everything?

You can never tell what a living animal will do. Each one is unique and each situation is different. You might see something that you consider valorous but I don't expect that from my dominant rooster. I expect him to watch for risks and try to lead his flock to safety. To me, that is his main job.

I still plan to rehome the two new roosters,

I consider that an excellent idea.

 

[Barbours]

Hi!

I got several pullets from Wilco last spring/summer, and TWO of the them turned out to be roosters. I already had (and still have) two excellent roosters, so I really don’t need these extra guys.

I would eat them (heartless though it sounds) but my mom and sister won’t stand for it.

All my chickens live together. 4 roosters, 22 hens. Same fence, same coop. The coop is quite small, but the fenced area is spacious.

So far, everything SEEMS to be all right, though I have noticed what appears to be feather pecking on a few of the hens recently.

I still plan to rehome the two new roosters, but my question is basically this: is there any safety benefit to having 4 roosters? Meaning, against predators? We live in a high predator area (raccoons, hawks, owls, and an insane amount of coyotes). If a predator arrives, is it normal for the roosters to help each other? Can I expect any valorous deeds from my two young ones or will they likely let the old guard handle everything?

Thanks!

If you have enough hens it should be fine. But with to many roos and not enough hens things can get nasty. They can hurt the hens kill and injure each other and it will just cause problems you don't want.

 

[LaFleche]

With spring around the corner hormones will increase and tempers will flare which can lead to the males stalking and fighting each other constantly instead of watching out for predators.

 

[SamLockwood]

Hi!

I got several pullets from Wilco last spring/summer, and TWO of the them turned out to be roosters. I already had (and still have) two excellent roosters, so I really don’t need these extra guys.

I would eat them (heartless though it sounds) but my mom and sister won’t stand for it.

All my chickens live together. 4 roosters, 22 hens. Same fence, same coop. The coop is quite small, but the fenced area is spacious.

So far, everything SEEMS to be all right, though I have noticed what appears to be feather pecking on a few of the hens recently.

I still plan to rehome the two new roosters, but my question is basically this: is there any safety benefit to having 4 roosters? Meaning, against predators? We live in a high predator area (raccoons, hawks, owls, and an insane amount of coyotes). If a predator arrives, is it normal for the roosters to help each other? Can I expect any valorous deeds from my two young ones or will they likely let the old guard handle everything?

Thanks!

You might get that many roosters to work: I've got three roos for 20 hens in my free-range flock and they get along decently. It really depends on the individual birds' temperament.

I haven't ever seen mine tag-team any predators (although the guinea fowl tend to do that for them), but they definitely coordinate with each other as far as posting lookouts and keeping the hens out of danger.

 

[FrostRanger]

General rule of thumb is it's best to have as few males as possible in your flock. If the 2 older boys have been working out fine, I would rehome or process the 2 cockerels. If the areas your hens are missing feathers are on their back or the back of their head then that is a sign they could be overbred. If they are nice, you can try to rehome them, but make sure your family is aware that it can be hard to find someone willing to take in a too as nearly everyone has too many or otherwise just doesn't need one, you very well might have no choice but to process them, it's not heartless, it is simply part of raising chickens especially if you buy straight run chicks or hatch your own

 

[No Coop No Problem]

My question is basically this: is there any safety benefit to having 4 roosters? Meaning, against predators? We live in a high predator area (raccoons, hawks, owls, and an insane amount of coyotes). If a predator arrives, is it normal for the roosters to help each other? Can I expect any valorous deeds from my two young ones or will they likely let the old guard handle everything?

Roosters serve as lookouts most of the time and as distractions more often than warriors. In red junglefowl you'll notice that the females are perfectly camoflaged but the males are brightly colored

I would expect a game rooster to fight predators occasionally but not other breeds for the most part. I have heard about a RIR fighting a stray dog but that seems to be the exception more than the rule