Gaaahhh! Rooster crowing match...

[Stephine]

I just listened to en extended crowing match between our planned cockerel and our accidental cockerel - waaahhhh, our poor neighbors!
The accidental (brahma) roo has just started crowing these last three days and until today we weren't really sure we were hearing two different crows. Now I heard them both crow at the same time. The planned roo (welsumer) got really worked up and crowed at least five more times after the brahma stopped. Makes me think it is a rivalry thing and the Welsumer has always been the top roo.
I hope this doesn't mean they will start fighting now? So far they have gotten along great. They are 18 weeks old.
Does anybody want a handsome, respectful buff brahma cockerel?

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

It's normal for cockerels to fight when they are young and figuring out the pecking order. As they mature, if all is well, you should have very little or no fighting.

How many hens/pullets do you have?

 

[Stephine]

Only 13, so I will need to get rid of one of them. My hope was that I could keep both till maturity just in case the intended roo turns out to be mean. But that might not work. The Welsumer definitely is the roo in charge and has been since he was just a few weeks. He started crowing at about 6 weeks, is the first to approach anything questionable, calls the hawk alarm and manages the flock. The other day I heard him tuck tuck tuck to his hens for the first time, but only one responded by coming over - probably because he normall6 bonks them on the head when they want to eat a treat next to him.... The Brahma roo just started crowing now and really behaves more like a middle of the pecking order hen so far....

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

13 hens is enough for two roosters.

 

[Stephine]

Maybe, though I have read it is best to have 10-12 hens per roo. We don't have enough room in the coop and run to give each roo his space and we are not adding on. Also, though we have mostly heavy breeds and 3 Brahma pullets most of the hens will be significantly smaller than a Brahma rooster and I am a bit worried about my Welsumers among others, if he decides to mate with them. That's why I picked the roo from one of the smaller breeds...

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

There's no need to make decisions right away. Some roosters do fine together, others don't. They may also be fine until next spring when the hormones increase again. I always like to wait and see how things go, but if you don't want the second one it might be time to remove him to cut down on stress to the hens.

 

[kelly88]

I have 6 roos and 15 hens and they all get along just fine.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

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I just listened to en extended crowing match between our planned cockerel and our accidental cockerel - waaahhhh, our poor neighbors!
The accidental (brahma) roo has just started crowing these last three days and until today we weren't really sure we were hearing two different crows. Now I heard them both crow at the same time. The planned roo (welsumer) got really worked up and crowed at least five more times after the brahma stopped. Makes me think it is a rivalry thing and the Welsumer has always been the top roo.
I hope this doesn't mean they will start fighting now? So far they have gotten along great. They are 18 weeks old.
Does anybody want a handsome, respectful buff brahma cockerel?

It could.When my roosters begun to fight and I seperated them they crowed and hunted eachother.Not saying this is your case,but lots of roosters have crowing comps even if their the low ordered roosters.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

13 hens is enough for two roosters.

It might be for some roosters,but some actually require the ratio or more.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

It does depend on the individual. A good ratio of roosters to hens is about 1:7, but I usually do less and don't really have problems. I would want to have at least two roosters so I have a backup in case something happens to one. Of course, if you don't have enough hens, then it is a different story.