4 month old cockerel problems

[SweetieChicken234]

So I raised 2 brown leghorn brothers together. Just the 2 of them. They have always been joined at the wing. Inseparable. They are good boys truly. I've held them constantly as chicks, loved them nonstop. By 10 weeks old I put them in with my older hens and stopped spending so much time with them so they could be big boys and function as a flock. All was going well, no problems and I was so happy. Just recently the alpha has been running the beta cockerel away. I didn't know why. I've spent some time locking the beta in the run by himself and only allowing the alpha and flock into the coop. They basically free range with coop access but no run access. I tried letting the beta out several times and the result is the same. Alpha chases beta away. I have been observing them all closely and have found a few things.

Beta mates with hens- alpha doesn't care that he does this. He runs over and watches but does not peck, harm or otherwise stop the beta mating hens.

Alpha cornered beta cockerel in the coop and I feared the worst but again, alpha was on his back but no blood or harm.

Alpha takes his job seriously and when he hears a hen upset he runs to see what is going on.

Neither cockerel is aggressive. Neither is aggressive to me and not to each other. Beta is a good beta cockerel. He is submissive and doesn't fight. He only runs away from his brother.

I have found the problem. Beta cockerel was locked up in the run and the second I opened the door he was mating the first hen near him. Then off to the next hen and was mating as many hens as he could get until his brother heard the fuss and chases him off. So it seems beta cockerel has raging hormones and can't seem to control it. Alpha hears the fuss he's causing the hens and he's trying to keep the peace in the flock and chase off his brother. I understand that beta can't help it. This is normal..

I am so sad but trying to find beta a home. He is not a bad boy but I don't have space to give him his own flock. I did get more pullets because I knew 2 boys would need more hens. Unfortunately my luck is bad. I bought 10 chicks, 4 turned into cockerels. Some of my sexed pullets turned into males. I am down to only 5 pullets to add to the flock. They are only 8 weeks old and too young to help in this situation.

Providing I can't find a home for my beta will this work out long term to keep him with the flock after his hormones settle? How long is it normally until the hormones calm down a bit? I can't eat this bird. I love the bird. I am going to eat my other cockerels but not my beta.

This is rough keeping him by himself in the run and I am out supervising when I let him back with the flock. I don't want him to get hurt or chased out of the yard again. It took hours to catch him last time when his brother chased him so bad he flew away.

Is there any light at the end of this tunnel? I think my alpha is on track to become an excellent rooster with age. He is a true peace keeper and non aggressive. I would love for his brother to stay in this flock if he can settle the hormones. Finding a home is no easy task.

 

[nuthatched]

If there's no blood and the hens aren't being rubbed out, don't worry about too much.

 

[microchick]

This sounds like pretty normal rooster behavior to me also.

My flock masters have always had a 'lieutenant' that he will allow certain degree of access to the hens--if he is in a generous and good mood. Otherwise the lieutenant will operate on the edge of the flock or keep an eye on the hens in the run while the flock master is in the coop. And yes, the flock master will chase off the beta rooster who is his lieutenant if he thinks he is taking too many liberties with 'his' hens and in his mind they are ALL HIS HENS.

Right now I have a flock of barnyard cross hens with Egyptian Fayoumi hens and bantam hens together with way too many bantam roosters riding herd on them.

The roosters and young cockerels work out a pecking order of their own with a rooster in charge of the coop and another two or three keeping an eye on the hens in the run. And yes, they keep in shape running one another off if they think somebody is moving in on their territory.

Your boys are young and yep, those hormones are a runnin' wild right now. I agree with @nuthatched. As long as no blood is being drawn (and it may happen) I wouldn't worry too much about their clashes. After a year they will begin to settle down and their hierarchy may even change.

I take it you just have the two roosters. The only thing I would advise is to keep an eye on your hens. The boys usually pick out one or two that they like to 'party' with and they will begin to show signs of feather wear and tear. If that happens you may want to construct a bachelor pen to stuff the little horn toads in to give the girls a break and a chance to regrow feathers. Young roosters have a habit of being slam bam thank you ma'am when it comes to mating. With maturity comes dancing and tidbit-ing and treating the hens with a bit more consideration.

Right now I have all my large and medium sized roos in a bachelor pen just for that reason. The bantams are little tyrants but they are a lot easier on the medium and larger sized hens' back and neck feathers.

Don't worry. Boys will be boys as the old saying goes. I think you have done a good job of raising your roosters.

 

[nuthatched]

I have 2 cockerels in a flock of 13 girls, they both mate but the girls tend to hang around who they like best. They'll work it out themselves, usually.

 

[SweetieChicken234]

This sounds like pretty normal rooster behavior to me also.

My flock masters have always had a 'lieutenant' that he will allow certain degree of access to the hens--if he is in a generous and good mood. Otherwise the lieutenant will operate on the edge of the flock or keep an eye on the hens in the run while the flock master is in the coop. And yes, the flock master will chase off the beta rooster who is his lieutenant if he thinks he is taking too many liberties with 'his' hens and in his mind they are ALL HIS HENS.

Right now I have a flock of barnyard cross hens with Egyptian Fayoumi hens and bantam hens together with way too many bantam roosters riding herd on them.

The roosters and young cockerels work out a pecking order of their own with a rooster in charge of the coop and another two or three keeping an eye on the hens in the run. And yes, they keep in shape running one another off if they think somebody is moving in on their territory.

Your boys are young and yep, those hormones are a runnin' wild right now. I agree with @nuthatched. As long as no blood is being drawn (and it may happen) I wouldn't worry too much about their clashes. After a year they will begin to settle down and their hierarchy may even change.

I take it you just have the two roosters. The only thing I would advise is to keep an eye on your hens. The boys usually pick out one or two that they like to 'party' with and they will begin to show signs of feather wear and tear. If that happens you may want to construct a bachelor pen to stuff the little horn toads in to give the girls a break and a chance to regrow feathers. Young roosters have a habit of being slam bam thank you ma'am when it comes to mating. With maturity comes dancing and tidbit-ing and treating the hens with a bit more consideration.

Right now I have all my large and medium sized roos in a bachelor pen just for that reason. The bantams are little tyrants but they are a lot easier on the medium and larger sized hens' back and neck feathers.

Don't worry. Boys will be boys as the old saying goes. I think you have done a good job of raising your roosters.

Ok so it is possible to have multiple roosters. I am insane I tell you. I have 1 more cockerel in the group of 8 week olds I want to keep as well. He looks to be a submissive gentleman.

I'm in the city so I have limited space on the yard for dealing with multiple pens. Right now I have a section of the run marked off with a roll down fence for the baby chicks. After they grow up I will roll the fencing back up and be able to lock the boys in the run if the girls are needing a break. What I've done is close the pop door between coop and run and just let the flock free range with coop access from the people door.

I highly doubt I will find a home for my beta boy. If not I will just continue working with this situation and hope it improves. The biggest problem I worry about is beta rooster flying over the fence again. I maybe should clip his wings. He's very hard to catch and this is bad in a city neighborhood.

 

[nuthatched]

Ok so it is possible to have multiple roosters. I am insane I tell you. I have 1 more cockerel in the group of 8 week olds I want to keep as well. He looks to be a submissive gentleman.

I'm in the city so I have limited space on the yard for dealing with multiple pens. Right now I have a section of the run marked off with a roll down fence for the baby chicks. After they grow up I will roll the fencing back up and be able to lock the boys in the run if the girls are needing a break. What I've done is close the pop door between coop and run and just let the flock free range with coop access from the people door.

I highly doubt I will find a home for my beta boy. If not I will just continue working with this situation and hope it improves. The biggest problem I worry about is beta rooster flying over the fence again. I maybe should clip his wings. He's very hard to catch and this is bad in a city neighborhood.

Can you get deer netting to add height to the fence?

 

[SweetieChicken234]

Can you get deer netting to add height to the fence?

No my T posts are only 5ft high. I'm already using 7 ft plastic fencing but it just folds over. Leghorns fly well. Especially my boy lol

 

[nuthatched]

No my T posts are only 5ft high. I'm already using 7 ft plastic fencing but it just folds over. Leghorns fly well. Especially my boy lol

Add lumber or tree supports to get the height up

 

[SweetieChicken234]

This sounds like pretty normal rooster behavior to me also.

My flock masters have always had a 'lieutenant' that he will allow certain degree of access to the hens--if he is in a generous and good mood. Otherwise the lieutenant will operate on the edge of the flock or keep an eye on the hens in the run while the flock master is in the coop. And yes, the flock master will chase off the beta rooster who is his lieutenant if he thinks he is taking too many liberties with 'his' hens and in his mind they are ALL HIS HENS.

Right now I have a flock of barnyard cross hens with Egyptian Fayoumi hens and bantam hens together with way too many bantam roosters riding herd on them.

The roosters and young cockerels work out a pecking order of their own with a rooster in charge of the coop and another two or three keeping an eye on the hens in the run. And yes, they keep in shape running one another off if they think somebody is moving in on their territory.

Your boys are young and yep, those hormones are a runnin' wild right now. I agree with @nuthatched. As long as no blood is being drawn (and it may happen) I wouldn't worry too much about their clashes. After a year they will begin to settle down and their hierarchy may even change.

I take it you just have the two roosters. The only thing I would advise is to keep an eye on your hens. The boys usually pick out one or two that they like to 'party' with and they will begin to show signs of feather wear and tear. If that happens you may want to construct a bachelor pen to stuff the little horn toads in to give the girls a break and a chance to regrow feathers. Young roosters have a habit of being slam bam thank you ma'am when it comes to mating. With maturity comes dancing and tidbit-ing and treating the hens with a bit more consideration.

Right now I have all my large and medium sized roos in a bachelor pen just for that reason. The bantams are little tyrants but they are a lot easier on the medium and larger sized hens' back and neck feathers.

Don't worry. Boys will be boys as the old saying goes. I think you have done a good job of raising your roosters.

Hey thanks again for this reply. It put me at ease and I let the flock stay together. After I stopped interfering with the chasing there came a point where my alpha cornered the beta.. stayed on his back and no harm came to him. There is still chasing occasionally but you are right. They are working it out. Better for me not to interfere but just keep an eye on things. Everyone seems happy and both boys were alerting and protecting from a hawk that lives here.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Many will say (I have too, in the past) that you need a minimum of 8 hens per rooster. However, I've found there is no magic number that works with all flocks. Some roosters need 20 hens all to himself, others can share with only 5 hens between two of them. You just have to watch and see what they do.

Yes, multiple roosters CAN live together in peace.

I happen to have two roosters and an 8-month-old cockerel with about 40-45 hens. It's a lot of girls, yes, but it is the number I've found that is most peaceful in my flock. My boys get along very well with each other. They each know their place. There is a LITTLE bit of chasing with the older roos going after my young cockerel, but nothing violent and they rarely even make contact. The older roos never fuss with each other. They are best buddies and a great team for watching over the flock. The youngster is learning from them, and has even started collecting a harem of his own who follow him around.

I had a fourth rooster about a year ago, a big beautiful BPR. But he was a shy, submissive kind of guy and would not stand up for himself. He was attacked by a group of hens once (nearly killed him!) while the roos stood by and watched, no doubt chortling to themselves and cheering the girls on. He eventually quit trying to fit in. When they free-ranged, I'd see him way out on the fringes of the flock, all by his lonesome. When they were locked in the run, he'd hide inside the coop. It was very sad. He would have been quite happy being the only rooster in a small flock, but alas, I did not have the setup for it. I got lucky and was able to rehome him with a bunch of pullets to a gentleman who'd just lost his whole flock to a dog attack and was starting over.