I had a bachelor pad for a while. 18 cockerels
They were well-enough behaved while the hens free ranged around them, but they were young, and brooded and grew up together so I guess there wasn't a whole lot of need to challenge the pecking order.
When they got older I had to move them away and put Mr Red in with them.
Mr Red the big RIR roo kept them in line. He would break up the fights. If some of them squabbled and he even started moving their way they would each run in opposite directions. I never saw any of the youngsters dare tackle big Red. He was over a year and the young guys were 20-25 weeks. I guess they were smarter than they looked
Nobody ever was injured worse than a little scabbing on their comb once in a while.
I would NEVER attempt to introduce a young roo to a pen full of roos though, coz they'd probably all gank him. Mr Red obviously could hold his own cos he was so much bigger
They were well-enough behaved while the hens free ranged around them, but they were young, and brooded and grew up together so I guess there wasn't a whole lot of need to challenge the pecking order.
When they got older I had to move them away and put Mr Red in with them.
Mr Red the big RIR roo kept them in line. He would break up the fights. If some of them squabbled and he even started moving their way they would each run in opposite directions. I never saw any of the youngsters dare tackle big Red. He was over a year and the young guys were 20-25 weeks. I guess they were smarter than they looked

I would NEVER attempt to introduce a young roo to a pen full of roos though, coz they'd probably all gank him. Mr Red obviously could hold his own cos he was so much bigger