Raising a cockerel with a rooster......

Hey there forum friends,

I hatched out some Dutch bantams earlier this year that have been raised with the original flock and rooster from day one. I would like to keep one cockerel for sure, along with the original Dutch rooster and nine hens.

What do you think my chances are of being able to keep the chosen cockerel (who is now 5 months old and crowing) in with the original rooster and flock long term? I have 64 sq/ft to 11 bantams and a big yard that will become much smaller once the snow flies.

I know that if you raise two males together and have enough space, they can get along fine'ish as long as there is enough space for them and they're not living in cramped quarters. But an established rooster with a young cockerel that has been in there from day one........

I think you would be better off keeping a third male. 3 males seems to usually balance out better with the pecking order than two. Of course, I have seen this rule play out the exact opposite too, think it depends largely on whether you have a large enough coop and run.

Well that's interesting CT cause I actually would love to keep two of them, as they are Mille Fleur and of different colours - one as a backup roo and one for the colour difference but 3 boys with 9 girls is too much.......wouldn't you say?

It will keep the girls from getting fat eh! lol. Ive been doing everything wrong by keeping all ages together, the males that kill chicks or juveniles removed themselves from the gene pool. No problems since enforcing that policy aside from normal juuvy type aggression. They learn from their elders it seems, if given the chance. I think keeping the boys together even in small spaces depends on breed and individual temperaments.

RIght now I have a pen of 13 birds.
3 are old hens who have quit laying eggs.
One is a mature Australorp roo who, I think, has rooster rabies.
5 are teenage roosters and 4 are teenage hens.

It is pure mayhem out there!

The old rooster, the one I suspect of having rooster rabies, has lost his mind and spends all his time chasing every single other chicken away from the food. Even his old hens, he chases them too. He chases anything that crows. With 5 other young roos in the pen, the squawky crowing is pretty thick. So the old guy is run ragged. He has this disconnected, slightly deranged look in his eyes. Rooster Rabies. I told Hubby, that guy's got to go.

It IS possible to keep multi aged roos together, but it is a situation that can go bad very quickly so you have to be very vigilant and keep a close eye to see that the young roos are able to eat and drink. A big mature roo can injure and even kill a younger roo so this is something you would have to keep a close watch on. At least in my pen there is room for the youngsters to run away. But like you, by snowfall, that will be a much smaller space.

Try it. But be ready with plan B incase it doesn't work out.

That is a pretty small number of hens. I'd normally try to plan for at least 8 hens per rooster, but as reneggaide said, much of it boils down to temperament.

This last winter/spring I settled on 3 drakes to 8 hens with muscovies and it worked out ok but smaller ratios are generally easier with ducks anyway.

Really depends on the roos. I have had success introducing a young cockerel with an established roo with little difficulty. I sometimes will take a shy cockerel and place him with one of my calmer roos so the youngster can learn what to do and bring him out of his shell.

Then I have had roos that while calm will absolutely not tolerate another male period.

Thanks so much for all your input CT, reneggaide, Uno and toybarons. Sorry for the delayed response. I haven't been able to get back on here till today and what you to know I do appreciate hearing about your experiences.

You know, given I really value both rooster and cockerel and don't want to open the coop door one day to a surprise, finding one terribly injured or dead, I've decided based on what you've all said and the uncertainty of it all, to separate them - one more flock I don't need . I do really want to increase their numbers next year as I just didn't have much success this year with fertility issues and getting only one pullet in the end.