dueling Roos

chickenjones

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10 Years
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Hi Everyone!
Not too long ago we had 4 roos and 4 hens. One of the roos is older (almost a year old) and a RIR- Henry. The other roo and hens are all about 28-30 weeks old. They are Wyandottes. We found homes for all but one extra roo. I love Henry. He is my baby but my husband says we should give him to our friend (who really wants him) so when we start hatching eggs they will all be the same breed. That makes sense, I know. Well the other roo, Big Boy- and he is big- used to be so sweet. He has become a jerk recently. He has been 2nd in command under Henry the whole time. It wasn't a problem at first because he had his own hens and Henry had his. After the neighbors dog got in our yard and killed all of Henry's ladies is when the problem started.

They are not drawing blood- yet. They only get hostile when one of them is trying to mate with the hens. Then both of them try mating the same hen and it gets pretty ugly. When they go in the coop at night Henry is all by himself and all four hens snuggle around Big Boy. I am probably reading way too much human emotion into this but I feel so bad for Henry!

Our friend has a RIR roo that he is ready to throw in the frying pan because he is mean to everyone- hens, kids, adults. He has always admired Henry and Henry would be the only roo. Is that what I should do? My other option is to get some more hens and hope they go to Henry. My mother-in-law has some that just started laying, like ours, but they are RIR hens. She has offered me some.

What does everyone think?
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I'll give you a couple of threads that kind of talk about your problem. They might help you make up your mind on what is best for your situation.

Number of roosters thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=219443

Managing multiple roosters
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=229968

My regular advice is to keep as few roosters as you can with your flock and still maintain your goals. You have to decide what your goals are as I am sure your goals are different from mine. I personally would let the rooster go.
 
Days are lengthening, hormones are raging, and the competition for mates will only increase. Two roosters to four hens is not a good ratio. There is a possibility of severe mating damage to the hens. It might be a good idea to find a new home for Henry or at least seperate the flocks and get some hens for him.
 

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