A problem with two Roosters

[Dandy_Rea]

Hello! i'm hoping i'm in the right forum section for this.

I'm having a problem with my first flock of chickens. We were only supposed to have one rooster (named Dandelion), but the place we got our chicks from made a mistake and we ended up with a male jersey giant (Mikey)

Everything was fine at first, but now Mikey won't even let Dandelion into the coop. Yesterday night I came out to witness Dandelion being attacked in the coop and chased around the whole fenced area. He even flew over the fence to get away from Mikey!

I fully understand that this is normal behavior for roosters, but i'm worried about Dandelion's health, and also the upcoming winter. I don't want Dandelion to freeze in the run all alone.

Is there anything that can be done? We do have a smaller coop that's only meant for around 4 chickens, but nobody seems willing to sleep in there.

 

[BoundlessLove]

My suggestion is to rehome one of your roosters.

Some valuable bit of advice I read here (from Mrs. K) is…
“Peace in the flock should be priority.”
If there is peace in the flock everyone, including yourself, is happy.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sounds like you need to get rid of at least one cockerel, if not both, especially with a smaller set up. The smaller the set up, the more birds will fight for the territory.

Two rooster will sometimes fight to the death or the dominant one will run the submissive one down until he does get sick from the stress. Come spring the aggression will increase.

 

[sourland]

@BoundlessLove gives great advice.

 

[Dandy_Rea]

Thank you guys. I figured this would be the case, I wish there was a different solution but I can't control nature and instincts

I'll try to convince the family that we need to re-home a rooster, likely Mikey because he isn't the nicest to the girls either. (pushes them out of the way to get food, grabs them by the necks and won't let them go, etc etc)

 

[SamLockwood]

Multiple roosters can always be dicey, and even if you free-range them every day and they have a big enough coop things can still get messy: at the very least someone's going to get a nicked comb and / or wattles and some pulled feathers.

You need at least 4 hens per rooster and a LOT of open space to have any chance of the multiple rooster thing working, and even then you sometimes get a rooster too stubborn and stupid to keep.

 

[jbj25]

Mikey and dumplings are also very good if inclined to go that route

 

[Mrs. K]

IMO, roosters need more room than hens. The more roos you have the greater the chance of it going wrong.

ASAP - put Mikey in the little set up, and aggressively move him down the road. Might contact a local poultry group, a 4-H club that has members that do poultry. There are people who can process your bird and feed themselves, this is noble reality, but you can also bury them and plant a rose bush. A good life, and a quick end is something we could all wish for.

Do not ask what they plan to do with the bird. The thing is, you accidentally got this rooster, this was not in the plan. Depending on the age of your birds, there is a good chance the other rooster won't work out either. Roosters are a crap shoot.

Some valuable bit of advice I read here (from Mrs. K) is…
“Peace in the flock should be priority.”
If there is peace in the flock everyone, including yourself, is happy.

Is very good advice. Do not keep birds that do not keep you and your flock happy.

Mrs K

 

[BoundlessLove]

IMO, roosters need more room than hens. The more roos you have the greater the chance of it going wrong.

ASAP - put Mikey in the little set up, and aggressively move him down the road. Might contact a local poultry group, a 4-H club that has members that do poultry. There are people who can process your bird and feed themselves, this is noble reality, but you can also bury them and plant a rose bush. A good life, and a quick end is something we could all wish for.

Do not ask what they plan to do with the bird. The thing is, you accidentally got this rooster, this was not in the plan. Depending on the age of your birds, there is a good chance the other rooster won't work out either. Roosters are a crap shoot.






Is very good advice. Do not keep birds that do not keep you and your flock happy.

Mrs K

Thank you for the advice!
You had given this bit to someone in an older thread. But, it’s still valid and helping people here!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.