Help! Rooster fight! Re-home one? What to do?

[Cotton Hill Chick]

Hi Friends,

I could really use some honest (and kind) feedback from those of you who have had chickens longer than I have (a year now). There was a rooster fight today that drew blood! I have a mixed flock of 29 chickens: 5 roosters, 24 hens. (I know, chicken math!) The fight today was instigated by the bantam Mille Fleur roo, who has a big bossy attitude, against the current "head roo" who happens to be a Silkie. I purchased the banty mille fleur with a mille fleur hen, so they are a pair. The mille fleur banty roo has been pushing for top roo status since he came here last year. One day-one, he attacked one of our sweet cochin roos, and wouldn't let go. Thought they would both die! We had to take the garden hose to them to get the banty MF to stop. Guess that should have told me something but we kept him. He's continued to be a bossy-boots, but there's never been blood drawn until today. This little banty roo will also fly at and attack my legs (I just chase him back). Cleaning up my sweet Silkie roo, my heart was breaking. For the damage done, for the fact I think I need to let this banty roo and his hen go to a new home.

The flock is pretty darn peaceful for the most part, believe it or not, except for this guy's bossiness, pushiness, and now outright aggression.

So, chicken loving friends, I'm asking for your thoughts, opinions, experience. Is there any hope to keep this little roo, now that he's drawn blood from another roo? Any way to tame him? Is the risk higher now this behavior may continue? What would you do? Re-home him and his hen? (I haven't the heart or capability to "dispatch" him in any other way than re-homing, just so you know).

Help! Looking forward to your help. With thanks...

 

[Roo5]

Chickens are going to draw blood, as long as no serious injuries are made, the birds should be left alone .However I would get rid of the bantam because of his aggression,and probably one other rooster just because 5 roosters to 24 hens might cause some tension.

 

[danceswithronin]

I'd probably cull the Mille Fleur, there are too many nice roosters in the world to put up with a nasty one, and you wouldn't want to rehome him with someone else's flock where he'll just cause more problems there with his flogging and whatnot.

 

[Trux]

So you bought bossy boots and a hen as a pair.
1. You can sell them or rehome them as a pair
2. Make them their own coop and run and raise little MF chicks.
3. Freezer camp the roo and keep the female
Thing is Roo's will challenge for top spot, so it's going to happen, with 5 roo's I'm surprised you haven't had more incidents. Then again maybe you have and just didn't see it.

 

[sourland]

If they were mine, I would either separate them from the main flock or find them a new home - letting the new owners know that he is human aggressive.

 

[MROO]

So you bought bossy boots and a hen as a pair.
1. You can sell them or rehome them as a pair
2. Make them their own coop and run and raise little MF chicks.
3. Freezer camp the roo and keep the female
Thing is Roo's will challenge for top spot, so it's going to happen, with 5 roo's I'm surprised you haven't had more incidents. Then again maybe you have and just didn't see it.

X2!
If you have a pecking order with your five roosters (and it sounds like you do,) then you've had fights. This was just a particularly volatile one. It is, unfortunately, what roosters do. Your best bet is to separate your flock into three smaller ones. Two roosters per 11-12 hens (still a bit high, bit do-able if the boys get along) and a separate coop for the Mille Fleur pair, out of sight of the others. There's no guarantee that this would stop the jockeying for position, but it would minimize the damage they could do to each other.
Good Luck!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My bantam roosters fight every spring. They are more scrappy than my standard roosters. I generally let mine fight it out. Can yours get away? Are they confined to a run?

Sometimes a rooster does need to be removed. I sometimes will pen up young roosters their first spring. They are always so hormonal. Usually after June or July I can release them again, but my flock isn't confined.

 

[Folly's place]

Cockerels and cock birds will spar and sometimes fight severely, especially in spring, and if confined. Your Millie has two strikes against him, and the big one is his human aggression. For that, he should be gone, and not sent to another flock either.
Peace is a good thing, and he's also too much for your other boys.
When I've had roosters who couldn't get along with each other, somebody has to leave. I've also given up on managing any who are human aggressive; they don't belong in my flock, or in the gene pool.
Mary

 

[Cotton Hill Chick]

Chickens are going to draw blood, as long as no serious injuries are made, the birds should be left alone .However I would get rid of the bantam because of his aggression,and probably one other rooster just because 5 roosters to 24 hens might cause some tension.

There go my hopes for Peaceable Kingdom! LOL! I appreciate your feedback. Two of the roosters were "surprises," thought they were hens but crowing several weeks post-purchase. The woman I bought them from offered to take them back; if she wasn't 2 hours away I might have done it... wish now I had. I am very fond of all of them: Two silkie roos, two cochin roos, and the bossy banty mille fleur. Definitely thinking of re-homing the bossy one... DH however would prefer to keep... sorting through it all here. Thanks again for your feedback, helpful!

 

[Cotton Hill Chick]

I'd probably cull the Mille Fleur, there are too many nice roosters in the world to put up with a nasty one, and you wouldn't want to rehome him with someone else's flock where he'll just cause more problems there with his flogging and whatnot.

Thanks for your reply. I'd likely try to re-home him with someone who could keep him and his hen separate for breeding... that's not what I want to do, but if I'm lucky I may find that situation for him. My other roos are fairly calm; 2 silkie roos, 2 cochin roos. They get along fairly well with the occasional chase and jumping at each other, which I can tolerate. They aren't aggressive toward me. A couple are even lap-sitters!