Beat up young rooster

[Cable Guy]

So I'm new to this and am looking for some guidance. I have a young rooster that is constantly getting chased and beat up, mostly by 1 other rooster. It has gone to the point to where he won't even go into the coop some nights and I have to pick him up off the log he is roosting on and put him in the coop. There is what I would guess is normal dominance in the flock but this is the only one being chased and totally dominated. Sometime my most dominant rooster will join in and chase and beat him up also.

Here is my flock dynamic, I currently have 24 birds total,(I already butchered 3 roosters), I have 3 breeds that are all the same age about 20 weeks and have been raised together from chicks. 9 are young roosters and 15 hens that are just starting to lay. My coop is 8x12 with a fairly large fenced in run about 30x50. I am planning to butcher 4 more roosters leaving 5 roosters to breed my hens and will allow them to get broody and hatch more hopefully. Breeds are buff orpingtons, black giants and black giants.

So how do I handle this, do I butcher the one that won't stand up for himself? The one that is chasing him?

 

[Cable Guy]

3rd breed is barnevelder, sorry must have typed black giant twice.

 

[Quailiesss]

Has this always been the case or has the violent rooster only just started showing dominance?

 

[Cable Guy]

Has this always been the case or has the violent rooster only just started showing dominance?

Just recently

 

[Quailiesss]

Have you just moved this young rooster in? Or has it been in a while? If the younger rooster has been in your flock a while have both these roosters been fine with each other until now?

 

[Cable Guy]

Have you just moved this young rooster in? Or has it been in a while? If the younger rooster has been in your flock a while have both these roosters been fine with each other until now?

They have all been together since they where day old, and haven't seen any overly aggressive behavior until now, I'm assuming it has something to do with the roosters reaching sexual maturity as I am seeing some breeding now from some of my roosters.

 

[Quailiesss]

Ooooooh.. No need for slaughtering, just separate the bullied one of them from the main flock with a few hens of his own. Also try to move their cage to somewhere different, they may be a bit bored of their surroundings and that can lead to violence.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @Cable Guy Welcome To BYC

Any photos of your coop, run and flock?

You have 9 - 20week cockerels with 15 pullets. That's a lot of raging hormones, I'm surprised you only have one cockerel that is getting beaten up.

Separating them to a bachelor pad may help, but if you are planning on breeding, setting up separate breeding pens may be the way to go.

Fighting over pullets is sure to come- leading to stress, feather damage and injury (to the pullets).

 

[varidgerunner]

Second in command is usually the biggest jerk to underlings.

 

[Cable Guy]

Butchering has allways been a part of my flock management plan as part of the reason we got chickens was for the meat they will provide for my family. I realize I have too many roosters and even leaving 5 with the number of hens I have may be too many. I'll get some pics shortly and post them as well