# More than 1 rooster



## Mother Hen (May 10, 2017)

This Sat I'm going to be getting 2 roosters. One is a BO and the other is an Easter egger. There is already one, Rhode Island Red rooster here and he has been the only one since 2014. Am I looking at any kind of issues/problems? If so, what would they be? Also if problems/issues arise, is there a way I could try to get past them without too much difficulty (or losing a rooster)?


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## oldhenlikesdogs (May 10, 2017)

How old are theses roosters? You are definitely going to have troubles bringing in adults.


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## Mother Hen (May 10, 2017)

The roosters I'm going to be getting are still babies only about 12 weeks old.


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## oldhenlikesdogs (May 10, 2017)

Mother Hen said:


> The roosters I'm going to be getting are still babies only about 12 weeks old.


Those aren't quite babies anymore. We're they raised together? If they were they may stick together and cause problems down the road for your older rooster.

How big is your set up? And how many hens do you have?

What are your integration plans?


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## Mother Hen (May 10, 2017)

I have about 40 hens
 Yes, the 2 roosters I'm getting were raised together.
 The chicken coop is a nice size. Last year we we're able to put in a brooder box when we got new chicks and still had plenty of room which aren't chicks anymore ( little over a year now) and the brooder box got taken out. The chickens I have are free range during the day so they are all over the property.
 I have a family member that stays on the property with me and knows how to integrate the new ones to the old ones. Yes, he knows about 1 rooster not the other one even though when I first mentioned I was getting a rooster given to me I hinted to the fact there may be two.


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## oldhenlikesdogs (May 10, 2017)

You may have no troubles, and you may have no troubles until next spring when the new boys are really maturing.

 It can be better to keep more than 2 roosters to disperse any aggression. If down the road you find them making trouble as a pair you can separate them temporarily. You can also remove one, or both if they become trouble.

I basically manage my maturing roosters if they need it, not all do, by penning and releasing for various lengths of time. Some can be a pain their first year or two, others a good from the start.

You will just have to see how it goes. My BO roosters are good roosters, and are one of my favorite breeds.


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## mustangrooster (May 10, 2017)

@oldhenlikesdogs has basically covered everything and given some good advice, so there's not much left for me to say. 

Basically, since they are raised together, and there is a lot of hens, I don't see any problems occurring---yet. It all depends on the maturing stage. 

I have roughly 12 roosters and 6 cockerels. So I have 18  boys altogether, no I'm not joking.

The majority of them were raised together, apart from 6 of them. They aren't best buds, and I don't think they ever will be, but they don't kill each other. You have to be really careful on how you introduce adult male roosters to one another. If you just put two mature roosters in the same coop that have never met one another, they will fight and they CAN kill each other.

As for the cockerels, I notice as the boys start to mature, the "best buds" phase starts to pass. Whilst they won't necessarily kill each other, you might notice little (or big) fights for dominance, them chasing one another away etc, and eventually, you'll see which one is the head rooster. Well, this is what I have noticed with mine.

Yours are still young but when they mature, your going to notice a phase, you could call it their teenager stage. They might be more pecky, they might challenge you, they might even try and run up to attack you. It all depends on the roster. My Ancona rooster is too shy and never would do it and never has. But Rofl, my Bantam cross has done such things, as did his father. Both were phases,  both are very good roosters. But Rofl is cheeky (still being a cockerel) his father is very mellow as a 4-year-old rooster. 

Rule of thumb, if you want to avoid bad rooster habits, it's best to treat roosters like Livestock. 

Good luck with your flock!


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## Bogtown Chick (May 10, 2017)

You will know you have too many roosters if you see hens' backs start to bare. The boys can get into competitions trying to ensure their own progeny. Or they might not with the busy-ness of 40 layers. You might see them share duties such as standing guard while the other eats. Your one rooster might find relief in having additional eyes on the sky. Or it could be you'll have hen harassers or people harassers in which then you know for sure which one is 'too many.'


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## aart (May 11, 2017)

Mother Hen said:


> I have about 40 hens
> Yes, the 2 roosters I'm getting were raised together.
> The chicken coop is a nice size. ....


Wonders what a 'nice size' in feet by feet is for 40 birds.
Curious too if they are all free range or if you have a run/pen/etc.

Best of cLuck to yas!!......let us know how it all goes.


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## Mother Hen (May 11, 2017)

All free range. I'm not sure on the feet by feet of the chicken coop seeing how I wasn't here when it was built. All I know is I'm not a small woman width wise and I have plenty of room to maneuver around while I'm cleaning it without removing feeder and waterer or nesting box.


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## Bogtown Chick (May 11, 2017)

Take a measure tape out there and go measure.  You want AT LEAST 4 square feet per bird.  My coop is 7 x 6.  I can have 10.5 birds regular birds.  Although I like lower numbers in the winter.  Because that 4 square feet per bird gets mighty small after a week of frigid temps.


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## Mother Hen (May 11, 2017)

I think I was told that the coop is 20×20, not sure though but there is plenty of room for all the hens seeing how they are only in there at night. They are Buff Orpington and Rhode Island Red so they aren't really big birds. We even let them free range in winter unless it is way too cold but with that many birds it stays warm in there.


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## aart (May 11, 2017)

Well, regardless of your stance on space and ventilation in the coop,
_that's_ where the 2 new little boys might run into the most trouble.
The existing birds might tolerate them out on the range,
where they can get/stay away from the flock,
but going into the coop at night may be a _way_ different story.
Hopefully they will be able to get in to find a safe place to sleep.
Best of cLuck!


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## Mother Hen (May 11, 2017)

When the baby chicks (hens) joined the flock last year was worried about about the existing ones being mean to the new members once "lockdown or lock-in" took place but there was a couple older hens that maternal instincts kicked in and protected the younger ones. I'm kind of hoping that will be the case with these guys.


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