Beta Rooster Habits and Quality of Life

[angelinagreena]

Hello everyone! I have a 6 month old buff cochin (Ezra) that I recently discovered is a rooster and is subservient to our rose comb brown leghorn (Barry, same age)! It's very interesting to me because Ezra is probably 2 times larger than Barry and looks like he could kick his butt...however that definitely isn't the case, haha! He does not crow and hides in the back of the coop most of the day except for a few times he comes out to eat. Every time Barry is near him he hides under the nest boxes. He interacts ok for the most part with the hens when they come inside the coop to lay but he does chase them/try to bite their necks (assuming trying to mate), and I've seen many of the hens hesitant to come in to lay. Barry comes to their rescue immediately and chases Ezra down if he hears the hens make a noise at all. He can't go out in the run and forage or be social with anyone else without getting chased back into the coop. Interestingly, I saw one of our female rose comb brown leghorns attack Ezra today over some food. I didn't realize even some hens can be above a beta rooster in the pecking order.

It doesn't seem like this is the way for a rooster to live - I worry Ezra might get depressed or have health issues later on because he's not really doing what chickens are supposed to do. Has anyone had experience with a Beta rooster? Are they happy being in that position? I am considering building a second house and run and giving him a few of his own hens...or getting rid of the alpha (Ezra is nice to me, Barry is not, haha)! Any advice you may have would be helpful! Thank you

 

[aart]

This is why I eat all my 'extra' cockerels(I hatch every year).
I won't have more than one male in the flock, too much chaos.
Others will feel, and manage things, differently.

 

[The Happster]

If you're willing to get rid of the dominant, that should work. Making Barry his own place would work too.

I would definitely do one or the other.

Barry is absolutely stunning.

 

[sourland]

Is it best to completely remove him from the space or keep him separate in a kennel but with everyone?

Separation of a dominant cockerel/rooster does not work in the same way that removal of a dominant hen sometimes works. It makes things worse. When the Alpha is returned to the flock he will return with a vengeance.

 

[HiEverybirdy]

I would say that if you do handle your birds and are established as what I call an "other benefactor" you might be able to show them where Ezra stands by giving individual attention to the roosters in front of one another (e.g. petting, hand feeding, etc), while continuing to give preference to Barry (i.e. feeding him first, allowing him interrupt you briefly when you are feeding Ezra). Hopefully, and there's no guarantee, this would reinforce with them that Barry is number one (in case he was worried) and maybe establish that Ezra is special and welcome. I have no science behind this, but I've observed that my dogs, cats and even birds study how I interact with animals they consider a threat or a meal. They always seem to change their attitudes when they see us feeding and handling.

It's cool how you point out the "other benefactor." It seems like people's impact on flock politics, especially with roosters, isn't very well understood. I've been thinking about keeping a behavioral journal for a better handle on how my actions affect our flock (as well as weather, health, new layers, etc.).

Anywho, I second @Silkielee - I like the idea to give him his own docile flock. OP, I do wonder if there's something else you could tweak about the space that would let Ezra shine as beta rooster. Or if spending more time with Ezra could elevate his status enough for Barry to let him out of the coop. It's so hard to know. Roosters sure don't make it easy!

Thanks for sharing your situation because the responses are enlightening. We also have 11 chickens and 2 cockerels: an 8-month Brahma and a 6.5-month Easter Egger.

The EE cockerel was a sexed-pullet accident. Everything I'd read said he'd have to go unless we got more pullets. I've met a 50-year chicken keeper with perfectly happy 1:4 rooster-to-hen ratios but didn't think I had enough experience to pull that off. However, currently we have a good alpha-beta balance happening.

In our case, I think the space helped. We have 3 coops in a 2K-square-foot protected yard with tons of places to hide, dustbathe, eat, and drink. It's been awesome to watch the guys function together. As long as they continue to be sweet to the pullets, I feel safer for having 2 roosters with the flock. The little cockerel gets a lot less "tread time," but he's great at watching for predators (he'll chase down squirrels!) and despite the fact that he doesn't have his own harem, he still ends up with plenty of attention. For istance, there's an EE pullet who loves to groom, and she'll stand between the cockerels and alternate pecking schmutz off each one.

I bet Barry's a fantastic protector, but Ezra deserves lovin', too Sending good vibes to help you figure it all out!

 

[Dottie the Chicken]

Maybe try separating Barry from the flock for a few days and see what happens.

@OneHappyRooster

 

[DaintyBess]

How long has this been going on? How many hens do you have? I usually see them come to some accommodation though the terms of the accommodation change over time. Your Ezra may figure out he's bigger and change the game, but he may always be the beta too.

Ezra probably is miserable the way things are. Do you handle your birds much? I would say that if you do handle your birds and are established as what I call an "other benefactor" you might be able to show them where Ezra stands by giving individual attention to the roosters in front of one another (e.g. petting, hand feeding, etc), while continuing to give preference to Barry (i.e. feeding him first, allowing him interrupt you briefly when you are feeding Ezra). Hopefully, and there's no guarantee, this would reinforce with them that Barry is number one (in case he was worried) and maybe establish that Ezra is special and welcome. I have no science behind this, but I've observed that my dogs, cats and even birds study how I interact with animals they consider a threat or a meal. They always seem to change their attitudes when they see us feeding and handling.

If that doesn't work, you ought to consider rehoming one of them. It's no way to live.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

My betas all do fine, but they have lots of space to get away if the top male decides to stop liking them fir the day.

 

[prettylittlehens]

I had similar issues and decided to separate the problem roo from the rest of the flock. It did not go well and actually made things worse! I put him in a large kennel, but still in the coop and visible to the rest of the flock and when I decided to let him rejoin everyone we nearly had a bloodbath. He was immediately rushed by the other (usually timid) Roo and I thought I would never get them separated. We ended up rehoming him because we saw no way to make it work while giving both roosters a good quality of life.

 

[DaintyBess]

Very true! I noticed this beginning about late last month when all of the hens started laying. I have 11 hens (was supposed to have all hens but that didn't work out, haha)! I don't think it's a way to live either which is why I am working on figuring out how I can give Ezra his own space. He needs to be social and needs exercise! I handle and hand feed all of my babies except Barry, he's not a fan of me. I am trying to break him down and make him love me by capturing him and carrying around, but it's no easy task!

In the Brooder
That works. He will succumb to your charms eventually.

One thing I do when I'm socializing birds is watch television with them. At the end of the day, after dinner when we're sitting down to watch a movie, I'll scoop up the bird, wrap it in a towel and sit with it in my lap. I pet it and stroke it's comb and wattles. Once they get used to the tv, the dog, the cat, and the other people and realize nothing is happening to them, they settle down usually go to sleep. If there are loud noises or bright lights I'll drape a corner of the towel over the face to give them a buffer. The boys in particular like having their wattles and comb stroked.