2 year old Roosters Fighting 2022

[Latish Red]

My favourite rooster "Pumpkin" went to live next door 2 years ago because I already had a rooster. That rooster died. Pumpkin's sister turned out to be a rooster, "Peanut", so I kept him. He has 20 hens. My neighbour has now decided they don't want chickens anymore so they gave me back Pumpkin and his 3 girls. I have them in the large pen while Peanut and his girls free range on 25 acres. I let Pumpkin and his 3 girls out after a week of all getting to know each other. Everything was good for about an hour but then Peanut attacked. They had a decent fight resulting in me running down and picking up Pumpkin, taking him in the bathroom and accessing the situation thru all the blood. They were both ok and separated again. I'm thinking of trying again. I do watch them.
What do you think?
1st pic of Peanut.
2nd pic Pumpkin.

 

[azygous]

This has less than a 50/50 chance of working. This is from my experience with two roosters who were raised as brooder mates and decided from the first hormone to kill each other. Only stray dogs killing one solved the dilemma.

You can try them again together, this time with only the two boys, no hens. If hens are present, even two pacifists are likely to fight. I have two roosters that are father and son and, even though they are best buds, if the hens roll out while the two are outside their run, they will engage in a gratuitous brawl.

A very long time ago, there was an interesting young man from Olympia WA here on BYC who ran a rooster rescue, all the more interesting because he and his twenty roosters lived in tents in a homeless camp. What he would do when he received an incorrigible roo who felt compelled to beat up another roo was to cage them together in a small cage only large enough for them the stand up and turn around. He swore this proximity promoted brotherly love, and when released, the two were BFFs.

If you're wildly open to try it, just be aware it could as easily end badly. I would prefer to pen them together without any access to hens with adequate space and give them a chance to work things out as to rank. If they can settle which will be dominant, there's hope they might co-exist. If they can't, and you'll know it within a couple of days, one will need to be given away or made into soup.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I'd let them have their fight, but watch them closely.

Most of the time when you end up with roosters in a farmyard setting, they'll fight until one runs the other off. Usually there's no deaths.

Occasionally, the fights can become deadly, but that's rare. It has only happened to me twice.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm thinking of trying again. I do watch them.
What do you think?

It's called "cockfighting" for a reason.

*Sometimes* hatchmate males will get along.

*Sometimes* father-son males will get along.

*Sometimes* free-range males who have their own space will get along and stay out of each other's territory.

More often males fight.

 

[Mrs. K]

Well you could sell tickets - but I think it is illegal in a lot of states. Just saying.

The thing is, Peanut is not going to think of Pumpkin's hens as Pumpkins. He is going to think, 'hmmmm more hens for me!'

Pumpkin is not going to think, 'I have these three hens, they know me, and that is enough' He is going to think, " HMMMMMM LOOK at all those hens!"

They may fight once, and if you don't interrupt it, settle it.

Or, they may fight once, and if you don't interrupt it, kill one of them or both of them.

Or they may fight, settle it, wait, fight again, settle it, wait, fight again.

Adding a mature rooster with hens is a whole different game than letting a rooster be raised up under a rooster, or two brothers being raised up together.

But even so - multiple roosters increase the odds against having the roosters work out.

I think you need to pick one, and let the other one go. They are handsome boys, I think someone might want one of them, if they have decent manners.

Mrs K

 

[Latish Red]

Thanks everyone for your comments. It all made plenty of sense and I'll take it all on board. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I let Pumpkin out again yesterday for 3 hours with his girls and the roosters could see each other but didn't bother to fight. So I'll keep doing that but I know they will probably fight again.
❤❤❤❤❤❤

 

[Latish Red]

Ok, it's been a couple more days now and everyday I let Pumpkin and his girls out for a couple of hours but stand close by. The roosters are pretty much ignoring each other now and have accepted the situation. I still don't trust them and will only ever let them out when I am there to watch.
Everything is going good though!
I'm so happy.

 

[DobieLover]

Ok, it's been a couple more days now and everyday I let Pumpkin and his girls out for a couple of hours but stand close by. The roosters are pretty much ignoring each other now and have accepted the situation. I still don't trust them and will only ever let them out when I am there to watch.
Everything is going good though!
I'm so happy.

This is good! But I caution you to continue to keep your eye on the situation.
I purchased a day old male Ameraucana chick along with 14 additional pullets for my flock. These chicks were raised among the adult flock. When the young cockerel hit sexual maturity and started going after the pullets in his hatch, the older hens and the senior rooster put him in his place. So he became a very well mannered young man.
However after about 1.5 years of submitting to the senior rooster Jr finally decided he wanted to take control of the flock and he attacked Sr when he was napping just outside a copse where his hens like to take shelter during the day. Jr bloodied Sr pretty badly but Sr ultimately won the fight. I found a dazed and staggering Jr in the coop after finding the bloodied Sr crowing like mad in the pen. I cleaned both of them up and locked Jr in the maternity ward inside the coop. After 3 days I let him out and as soon as he came out, he jumped one of the hens, Sr ran over and knocked him off, the hackles flared and they were fighting again.
I ultimately sold Jr.

 

[Latish Red]

Aw that's

This is good! But I caution you to continue to keep your eye on the situation.
I purchased a day old male Ameraucana chick along with 14 additional pullets for my flock. These chicks were raised among the adult flock. When the young cockerel hit sexual maturity and started going after the pullets in his hatch, the older hens and the senior rooster put him in his place. So he became a very well mannered young man.
However after about 1.5 years of submitting to the senior rooster Jr finally decided he wanted to take control of the flock and he attacked Sr when he was napping just outside a copse where his hens like to take shelter during the day. Jr bloodied Sr pretty badly but Sr ultimately won the fight. I found a dazed and staggering Jr in the coop after finding the bloodied Sr crowing like mad in the pen. I cleaned both of them up and locked Jr in the maternity ward inside the coop. After 3 days I let him out and as soon as he came out, he jumped one of the hens, Sr ran over and knocked him off, the hackles flared and they were fighting again.
I ultimately sold Jr.

Aw that's a shame. Yes I will always be with them when I let him out.