Hens are Roosters

[lildarlinshine]

On April 5th we rescued 2 day old babies, after their mother and siblings had been killed by a predator. We kept them inside the house and now they are 2 months and 4 days old. Yesterday one of them began to crow, before I took them out to the coop and run. I put them out there and the other one began to crow. It was a sickly crow, not even sounding real actually. We had had them sexed as hens a few weeks ago so this was surprising to us. We have 2 roos. They had gotten along perfectly all this time but within an hour of me putting them outside, one of them had beat the other up so badly it was bleeding all over its head. He was cowering in the corner scared to death to move. I brought him in, cleaned him up, put neosporin all over his head ( not near his eyes tho ) He was in total shock as were we. He couldn't even hold his head up. So I held him close for hours, talking to him, and he began to perk back up. He is fine today other than having some really nasty pecking wounds all his head. We really thought we had hens. I'm not sure what to do from this point. We have a run almost finished, a coop that is built for hens, and now I'm afraid those boys can't be together. I feel obligated to give them the best life possible because their mother died on our grounds as a stray we kept watch over. How do you keep 2 roos and no hens ? I'm afraid to put them back together, for fear the one will kill the other. I keep them separate but close so they will talk to one another and they do make noises to one another. We still keep them in at night in the house. But not in the same cages. We have thought about going to get 4 chicks and start over with new babies and hope we get hens from TS. I've watched so much Youtube about it there is such conflicting info, I am asking here.

 

[DobieLover]

I'm afraid those boys can't be together.

I would avoid doing this. The hormones have started and the other cockerel has established dominance. If you confine them where the subordinate cockerel cannot get away, he will be beaten down or even killed by the dominant.

I would advertise the dominant one and rehome him.

You can get some sexed pullets from Tractor S and raise them in the coop in a sectioned off area and use a brooder plate for the heat source. The subordinate cockerel could have the rest of the coop and run to himself until the pullets are about 5 weeks old. Then you can fashion a small door that they can fit through but the cockerel cannot. That way they can go back to their brooder if he chases them. Eventually, he will probably have to separated from them when the finally roost with him as he will be sexually mature but they won't and he'll constantly mate them when they just aren't ready. When they start squatting for him, they are ready and he can finally join them.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

It sounds like a space issue. But, weird that they were fine together until you put them outside. Some people do keep roosters as a bachelor flock, but there would be no hens. Roosters do fight for dominance. The tiny crow must have set the more dominant one off.
You could try separating them in the run where they couldn't get to one another. Or rehome them both and start with hens especially if these are your first chickens. You obviously can't add young chicks to a run with a rooster even if you kept one of them.

 

[lildarlinshine]

We were thinking of introducing the new hens at 2 or 3 months not as young chicks. The two were fine until the first morning the one began to crow, then upon putting them outside the other one crowed , and I thought it was cute and went on back in the house to cook breakfast. I went back out an hour later and the one that seemed more dom, sitting highest on the roost in the coup is all beat up. Yes, these are my first chickens. I've had them since the day they hatched. Tiny little things.

 

[lildarlinshine]

I would avoid doing this. The hormones have started and the other cockerel has established dominance. If you confine them where the subordinate cockerel cannot get away, he will be beaten down or even killed by the dominant.

I would advertise the dominant one and rehome him.

You can get some sexed pullets from Tractor S and raise them in the coop in a sectioned off area and use a brooder plate for the heat source. The subordinate cockerel could have the rest of the coop and run to himself until the pullets are about 5 weeks old. Then you can fashion a small door that they can fit through but the cockerel cannot. That way they can go back to their brooder if he chases them. Eventually, he will probably have to separated from them when the finally roost with him as he will be sexually mature but they won't and he'll constantly mate them when they just aren't ready. When they start squatting for him, they are ready and he can finally join them.

thank you

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We were thinking of introducing the new hens at 2 or 3 months not as young chicks.

That's still too young to put pullets in with a cockerel, IMO. Males mature earlier than females and can be very, er, randy. I'd wait until the pullets begin to lay, typically around 4 months of age or maybe even a little older.

 

[GlicksChicks]

It could be good for you to buy laying hens already. Keeping the rooster alone for so long could have negative results when you go to introduce hens. He could get aggressive with them or be over-zealous with mating. Try to find people in your area willing to sell laying hens to you, or willing to rehome hens for free.

Make sure to quarantine the hens before trying to introduce them to the rooster, but I would also suggeat to have the hens living in the coop area that will be their permanent home for a week or so and then slowly integrate the rooster in. Adding hens into a place the rooster claimed as his territory could get brutal even if they are females.

 

[lildarlinshine]

That's still too young to put pullets in with a cockerel, IMO. Males mature earlier than females and can be very, er, randy. I'd wait until the pullets begin to lay, typically around 4 months of age or maybe even a little older.

We were not planning on putting them all together, just in the same run with a split in the run to keep them apart but to get to know one another for awhile. That would be ok, right ?

 

[lildarlinshine]

It could be good for you to buy laying hens already. Keeping the rooster alone for so long could have negative results when you go to introduce hens. He could get aggressive with them or be over-zealous with mating. Try to find people in your area willing to sell laying hens to you, or willing to rehome hens for free.

Make sure to quarantine the hens before trying to introduce them to the rooster, but I would also suggeat to have the hens living in the coop area that will be their permanent home for a week or so and then slowly integrate the rooster in. Adding hens into a place the rooster claimed as his territory could get brutal even if they are females.

thank you!

 

[GlicksChicks]

thank you!

Of course! It would probably be good to rehome the dominant rooster as well because he could be aggressive with your hens too. The rooster who got picked on could be the nicer one so he got bullied for it.

Is the bully rooster nice to you?