Two Roos to Fight?

[JESUS-IS-KING]

Hello! I have two confirmed roosters in a flock of 31 five-week-old birds. I was told that two roosters will fight until they kill each other so you needed one or three, is this true? Would the size of the flock make it okay to keep two? The flock will be housed in a large coop with a large run and should not suffer from space issues.

Also, how effective are roosters at protecting a flock? That would be the main reason I keep them, although if I do keep them I may use them as breeding stock for my next batch of hens. One is an Amber Star and I'm not entirely sure of what the other chicken is. It might be a Whiting True blue or it might be the surprise chicken I got with my order. It is all black with white wing tips and white on its head and black legs with feathering down to the ankle.

 

[FrostRanger]

There's no telling with living animals, you do have enough females where I would be comfortable having 2 boys, but honestly the only reason you absolutely need a rooster is if you're planning on hatching chicks. The protection roosters offer is pretty minimal. Yes, you occasionally hear about a rooster fighting off a predator of some kind but they are the exception rather than the rule, usually a rooster will just sound the alarm, which while still useful, isn't a reason that you'd need a rooster

I will say that the more boys you have, the more likely you are to run into issues, So you're more likely to have issues out of three roosters than 2. You should keep the bare minimum amount of boys you can to accomplish your goals. If your goal is to eventually hatch chicks then 2 would be just fine although one would probably be OK too depending on how much you want to hatch

 

[Blue Andalusian]

There's no telling with living animals, you do have enough females where I would be comfortable having 2 boys, but honestly the only reason you absolutely need a rooster is if you're planning on hatching chicks. The protection roosters offer is pretty minimal. Yes, you occasionally hear about a rooster fighting off a predator of some kind but they are the exception rather than the rule, usually a rooster will just sound the alarm, which while still useful, isn't a reason that you'd need a rooster

I will say that the more boys you have, the more likely you are to run into issues, So you're more likely to have issues out of three roosters than 2. You should keep the bare minimum amount of boys you can to accomplish your goals. If your goal is to eventually hatch chicks then 2 would be just fine although one would probably be OK too depending on how much you want to hatch

We used to have about 6 roos (we only have 1 now), And I can confirm that they only sound the alarm. Usually

 

[Yardmom]

2 roos can get along just fine. Every rooster has its own personality you may or may not see a scuffle or two when they reach maturity, but most find a way to live peacefully with each other.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I was told that two roosters will fight until they kill each other so you needed one or three, is this true?

Total nonsense. Sometimes they will fight to the death, sometimes they will reach an accommodation in how to take care of the flock. The more you have the more likely you are to have problems, though you do not get guarantees that you will or will not have problems. That's why I generally suggest you keep as few boys as you can and still meet your goals.

Would the size of the flock make it okay to keep two?

Again, a fallacy if fighting is your concern. Two or more boys are just as likely to fight over 20 hens as 2.

If your concern is fertility, some roosters can keep 25 or more hens fertile by themselves, some don't. Dad kept a free ranging flock of 1 rooster and 25 to 30 hens and practically all of the eggs were fertile. Some roosters have trouble keeping 4 or 5 hens fertile. I don't know how it will work with yours.

Also, how effective are roosters at protecting a flock?

I agree that while roosters will occasionally fight certain predators they are much more likely to sounds an alarm and try to lead the flock to safety. I've had two dog attacks costing a total of 13 chickens. In both attacks the rooster was not harmed.

One thing I've noticed. If something suspicious is going on they will often sound an alarm and put themselves between the flock and the perceived threat. Sometimes that is me carrying a camera instead of a feed bucket but it could be a real threat. That may explain why some roosters are taken instead of the hens. It's not that they are fighting off a predator but are closer when they attack.

I give them some credit for being a lookout but often a dominant hen will do that if there is no rooster in the flock.