Help for new young roos?

[freestargirl]

Here's the backgroud-

Have 5 Golden Comet hens, raised since day-olds. Before they started laying, a friend gave us 2 Maran/Langshan roosters, that were a couple weeks older. These 2 roosters were mean. We didn't keep them very long. The friends had to get rid of another rooster, a brother to the ones from before, so same day out with the old, in with the new. Neither the 2 roosters at once, or the single rooster had any problems mixing in with the rest of the flock.
My hubby came home yesterday with 2 Buff Brahmas, that have just started crowing within the past day or so (thats why the guy had to get rid of them, couldn't have crowing in his neighborhood. He had 4 BB hens, and the 2 roos.)
Out with the old roo, in with the 2 new ones. The hens are mourning the loss of the old roo. He was very very good to them. They aren't being very nice to the 2 new, younger, bigger roos. The roos are afraid of the hens, afraid of the coop, afraid of their own shadows. I had to catch them and dip their beaks in water just so I knew they knew that it was only water!
I know pecking order has to be established. Is there anything I can do to help this process along? Make it go a little smoother? The smaller of the 2 roos, he's the one the hens are picking on the most, but he's the easier one to catch. The larger, he's the dominant one, bigger brighter comb & wattles, raised his hackles when the hens tried to peck at him (where his brother just ran). In catching them, the larger of the 2 was determined to strangle himself trying to go thru the fence, and actually got his feet off of the ground a bit (they were in a chicken tractor before- here we have a good sized area fenced with the coop central and can close some runs off and have some open.) Which one should I keep? I know if we get rid of the dominant one, the submissive one won't be so submissive.
HELP????

 

[teach1rusl]

If you had a good roo (#3), why did you get rid of him???? A rooster who is good to his girls and respectful of humans is invaluable. Since you have two newbies, I'd wait and watch for a few weeks. I'd look for who is good with the girls and see you humans as boss...

 

[freestargirl]

We got rid of the old roo- Red because he wasn't nice to us. Hubby read that Brahmas get bigger (Red was a pretty big bird... he got out and after me a couple weeks ago, and outside the fence there was no getting away from an angry bird. There were 4 very large dogs (2 ours, 2 neighbors) in my yard at the time. They were also terrified of this rooster and came nowhere near him. I would have let them eat him then- I've had to go to the doctor over that bird before .) Anyway, Brahmas get bigger, have better disposistion and are more likely to go broody. I want good sized birds to eat, and birds that'll hatch for me, but I also want a rooster that I don't have to be afraid of and who will be a good rooster for my hens.

 

[teach1rusl]

I've heard good things about brahmas...that they're pretty easy going - usually good w/hens and non aggressive with people.
I didn't realize #3 was people aggressive - I would not have an aggressive rooster either. I hope one of the two newbies does well for you. I'd give them several weeks to see which looks most like a keeper...

 

[freestargirl]

Oh yes, #3 was nasty! Red was short for 'Red Devil' Everyone wondered why we kept him around as long as we did. We literally had to dodge him when we let them out in the mornings, and had to be quick & quiet at night to shut them up, or he'd come out after us, in the dark. He would hop up on the gate frequently & crow at us when we were in the yard. And there were the many times he got out...On more than several occasions we threatened to kill him. And he did send me to the doctor once- they got a good laugh at the Dr.'s office for coming in for a 'rooster attack'. Most of my old posts in the forums are about him LOL. He was nasty, but he was predictable. I finally had a system & a uniform for chicken chores. <sniff sniff> I really missed him crowing at 6 am this morning- he did have a very nice crow. And he literally let the hens steal food right out of his mouth. He was very good about getting the hens herded into the coop when he sensed danger, or what he thought was danger... Hopefully the family of squirrels that live in the trees around the run will be nicer to the new roos. I really seriously think they threw acorns at him.