Fighting Roosters & Pinless Peepers

[Mrs. K]

Yes, a bachelor pad would help all of them. Unless you just don't like the old boy, I would hate to give up a mature rooster. They really can add a lot to a flock.

 

[bjurbrat]

I've tried the pinless peepers on my roosters and they do not phase them one bit. The peepers do not obstruct their view so it's like they don't have them on at all. The peepers are put on correctly, so I'm at a loss as to what I should do next. Is there anything else that I can use to help my roosters not fight?

Do you want a bunch of roosters or do you just have a big heart

 

[Lucy Luke]

If you do not allow a hen to incubate eggs they will not hatch. It's still a good idea to gather the eggs daily. Eggs left out overnight are an invitation to egg eating predators. But unless they are incubated they will not hatch.

You do not have five roosters. You have one rooster and four cockerels. I don't know what kind of aggression you are seeing. Typically my dominant roosters stop my cockerels from harassing and trying to mate the hens. They typically don't bother the cockerels when they are harassing pullets their own age but they do take care of their mature hens.

What are you seeing that you call aggression? What I typically see is that the cockerels run away when the rooster approaches. There may be some chasing but that's just to run them away. He's not likely to catch them.

At five months those boys are going through puberty. They have sorted out which of them is dominant. Sometimes that involves serious fighting, but often it's more intimidation. Sometimes you don't even notice, it's that subtle, especially when they have a lot of room. But they know which is boss. You may see some fighting between them as they continue to mature but then you may not. At least for quite a while.

Those cockerels continue to run away from the dominant rooster until one matures enough to try to take over as flock master. That could be a pretty good fight or series of fights. Either one could win. If those boys are not bothering the pullets their age yet you could see a big increase in that type of aggression pretty soon. That may stir you into action faster than the interaction between the dominant rooster and those cockerels. I'd think about isolating them, not the dominant rooster.

You want to keep them because you want to keep them. Fair enough. You have several options. My first suggestion is to prepare a pen where you can isolate those boys on a minutes notice if you decide you need to. Sometimes that need hits with little warning. Be prepared. Many people in your situation use a bachelor pad. That's a coop and run where you keep the boys together with no girls to fight over. I would build that place to isolate them with that in mind.

You can keep going as you are. Base what you do on what you see. It's unlikely but possible they will work things out. There is a lot of wishful thinking in that but at least it is possible. It may be necessary for things to go really bad for you to accept that it is a good decision to isolate them. Trust what you see instead of what some stranger over the internet like me or Mrs K tells you. I will mention Mrs K has experience to back up her suggestions.

If you deem it necessary to separate them you could move all four boys into that bachelor pad at the same time. I would, less disruption overall. Or you can try moving them in as you see them causing trouble or being in danger. That's more likely to cause them to fight each other when you add a new one but they might work it out. Give them plenty of room.

You can try all sorts of combinations, you may hit on something that works. But if you just want them because you want them, a bachelor pad is probably the simplest way to go about that.

Thank you!! I like the bachelor pad idea and will start working on that today, thanks again for your help.

 

[Lucy Luke]

Do you want a bunch of roosters or do you just have a big heart

Just a big heart and attached to them all since I've watched them hatch.

 

[bjurbrat]

Just a big heart and attached to them all since I've watched them hatch.

I'm sad for you I would be the same maybe someone would love a roo and the roo would love his flock do you think of that (it always helps to lol)did you know the pointy eggs are hen and round ones are roos that might help ❤

 

[Lucy Luke]

I'm sad for you I would be the same maybe someone would love a roo and the roo would love his flock do you think of that (it always helps to lol)did you know the pointy eggs are hen and round ones are roos that might help ❤

Wow, I wish I would have known that before I got myself into this situation with my roos.

 

[keesmom]

I'm sad for you I would be the same maybe someone would love a roo and the roo would love his flock do you think of that (it always helps to lol)did you know the pointy eggs are hen and round ones are roos that might help ❤

That is an old wives tale. If it were true hatcheries would be able to avoid hatching all those cockerels.

 

[bjurbrat]

Wow, I wish I would have known that before I got myself into this situation with my roos.

I've learn a lot even though I only have 7 hens that plenty of cackling for me lol plus everyone on this site is very helpful
❤

 

[Ridgerunner]

did you know the pointy eggs are hen and round ones are roos that might help

That old wives tale has been around since the ancient Greeks but it keeps changing. Sometimes the pointy ones are supposed to be boys and sometimes the round ones are. You know what? Both are right half the time.

@keesmom have you tried to sort your eggs by pointy or round? I did once, I was going to test that just for fun. But I had trouble telling if half my eggs were round or pointy. I couldn't get enough of clearly either round or pointy to fill up the incubator.

 

[aart]

have you tried to sort your eggs by pointy or round? I did once, I was going to test that just for fun. But I had trouble telling if half my eggs were round or pointy. I couldn't get enough of clearly either round or pointy to fill up the incubator.

You'd need hundreds for a viable 'test'....but you know that.
I have hatched several small batches of 'torpedo eggs'. Approx. 50/50 ratio male/female.