3 roosters - 1 rooster = happy coop?

[Lauren4868]

Hello and thank you to anyone that reads this. I will try to make it short and sweet...
Up until this week I had a flock of 18 chickens, 3 were roosters.
My head rooster is an Easter Egger (4 yrs old) and the other 2 were Cochin brothers (3 yrs old). Everyone has gotten along very well over the years. My head rooster would chase the younger boys once in a while but that was always the extent of any 'bickering'.
A few days ago the 2 younger roosters started going after the head rooster and sparring with him. He gave up over time, changing the dynamics of the flock. I let this go one for a day or two but it was getting to the point where the head rooster submitted but the other two wouldnt let up. It was obvious that they wanted him dead.
I brought the injured head rooster inside and cleaned him up. He's been living in my garage for 4 days in an XL dog crate. He's doing great and very eager to get back into the coop.
I decided to cull one of the Cochin roosters because it was apparent that the 3 of them could not get along any longer and the 2 were ganging up and picking on my head rooster.
I would like to reintroduce my head rooster back into the flock. Is there a possibility that now with only 2 roosters, they will balance themselves out? And has anyone done this before?

 

[Lauren4868]

Poor baby! I had the same problem with my roosters but I didn't cull them! I would never! I don't think anyone should cull their roosters unless they are severely injured and unable to survive. I rehomed three of my roosters to a chicken rescue near me and to this day, they are having a happy life with their other rooster friends! Please, on behalf of all our sweet chicken babies, don't cull unwanted roosters... It's just their nature... They don't deserve it...

You're correct in saying it's just their nature. And nature is a cruel beast.
The world of chickens seems to be the cruelest!
You are horribly wrong when you say that I culled him today because he was "unwanted". He was wanted. He was loved. He was snuggled. He was my daughter's pride and joy for 3 years. He was her most beloved out of all of our chickens. Today was devastating for our family and I cannot express that enough.
Unfortunately the reality of having roosters means things can go wrong, especially when you're keeping multiples in a flock. If he was "unwanted" I wouldn't have reached out to members of this forum. I asked for advice because I care.

I would suggest that you be mindful of your posts on here. No one is looking for advice to better a difficult situation if they didn't care and you could be making a horrible situation even worse by adding your two cents after the fact. Please refrain from doing this in the future.

 

[Jtaranc]

Poor baby! I had the same problem with my roosters but I didn't cull them! I would never! I don't think anyone should cull their roosters unless they are severely injured and unable to survive. I rehomed three of my roosters to a chicken rescue near me and to this day, they are having a happy life with their other rooster friends! Please, on behalf of all our sweet chicken babies, don't cull unwanted roosters... It's just their nature... They don't deserve it...

I allowed a rooster I raised to attack me for months unprovoked and then he got me one day when I was bending over and I needed 12 stitches next to my EYE. I culled him and wished I had done it sooner.

Not every rooster is sweet, cuddly and manageable. I almost lost an eye because I felt like you do and now I see how ridiculous it was.

 

[sourland]

Young roosters are always looking to depose the head roosters. It's all about the DNA. I would remove the remaining young rooster from the flock, reintroduce the senior rooster, wait a couple of weeks before reintroducing the young rooster. Expect fighting, but hopefully the old rooster can retain his position. Monitor closely.

 

[Lauren4868]

Young roosters are always looking to depose the head roosters. It's all about the DNA. I would remove the remaining young rooster from the flock, reintroduce the senior rooster, wait a couple of weeks before reintroducing the young rooster. Expect fighting, but hopefully the old rooster can retain his position. Monitor closely.

I thought about doing that but on a much smaller level... I was going to put the Cochin (younger fellow) in the crate inside of the run and let the head boy hang out with his ladies until nightfall. Once it was dark, I was going to put the Cochin back into the coop to sleep and hope that everyone got along better in the morning.
I think your idea is much better. Thank you so much!!!!!

 

[sourland]

The older rooster will need time to regain his mojo. Just as the presence of a dominant rooster results in lower testosterone level in subordinates, I think that a beatdown/deposing does the same thing to a once dominant rooster. Sometimes they never regain their confidence.

 

[Lauren4868]

I think you're right. I'm going to give that a try. I really would like to be able to keep both roosters. Fingers crossed!
I'll be sure to update in a few weeks.

 

[Mrs. K]

I am glad you reported back. They don't call it cockfighting for nothing. Some work it out, but I think it is more of a time bomb waiting to go off and one never really knows when it will go.

Mrs K

 

[Lauren4868]

I am glad you reported back. They don't call it cockfighting for nothing. Some work it out, but I think it is more of a time bomb waiting to go off and one never really knows when it will go.

Mrs K

I think you're right. I'm pretty new to all of this (4 years). I was just very caught off guard when we went from coop bliss to total chaos within a matter of 24 hours.
This forum has provided me with so much knowledge. I hope that if anyone has a similar situation, they read this and proceed however they feel but with a little more insight.

 

[Mrs. K]

Lauren - you did the right thing. People who care for animals have to make tough decisions and you did make the right one.