How would you read this

[Rick589]

One rooster runs up and knocks another rooster off while trying to mount a hen. Roosters and hens are about 5 months old and there are not enough hens for the roosters, not intentional on our part.

 

[Barbours]

One rooster runs up and knocks another rooster off while trying to mount a hen. Roosters and hens are about 5 months old and there are not enough hens for the roosters, not intentional on our part.

I'd say they are beginning to show each other who is dominant in the flock. There is always a dominant one and they are figuring out which one of them it will be. That's my guess

 

[Rick589]

I'd say they are beginning to show each other who is dominant in the flock. There is always a dominant one and they are figuring out which one of them it will be. That's my guess

I do see the pecking order working itself out, even though most the time they seem to get along just fine. BUT, even though the hens aren’t interested one is a horny buck and is always attacked and knocked off by the other. Seemed to me they were deciding who owned the hens. Curious about opinions from more seasoned chicken owners.

 

[The Moonshiner]

I read it as...... hmm..... I'll put it this way..... blocking

 

[Barbours]

I do see the pecking order working itself out, even though most the time they seem to get along just fine. BUT, even though the hens aren’t interested one is a horny buck and is always attacked and knocked off by the other. Seemed to me they were deciding who owned the hens. Curious about opinions from more seasoned chicken owners.

Yep they are doing exactly that. Problem is as they get older and spurs get bigger they will end up hurting the hens and each other fighting over who's boss.

 

[Rick589]

Yep they are doing exactly that. Problem is as they get older and spurs get bigger they will end up hurting the hens and each other fighting over who's boss.

Yeah, I know. Ended up with two rooster out of six, and sure what direction to take. More hens or less roosters. I’m the problem because I’ve become attached to them all.

 

[aart]

I’m the problem because I’ve become attached to them all.

Yup, Romance meets Reality.
Buck up and do the right thing for your egg makers

 

[Barbours]

Yeah, I know. Ended up with two rooster out of six, and sure what direction to take. More hens or less roosters. I’m the problem because I’ve become attached to them all.

I get that. We have 3 roos ducks and no hens anymore . We used to have hens but the roos out lived 'em and we keep getting rescue roos. Now we have 3 different enclosures for each of them. But they're good boys and it's better then the alternative

 

[DemeterAD9]

I see it often between my 2 cockerels. They have 19 girls and they are allowed to free range most of the day. The blue copper maran will chase off the black jersey giant but that doesn't stop the BJG from trying to mate the hens. If he is caught in the act by the maran he will get pushed off the hen. If the BJG sees the maran mounting a hen he either does nothing or occasionally tries to push him off (and fail). Just typical dominance stuff. One roo will generally claim all the hens but that won't stop the other roo from trying to get some. That being said, not every hen is willing so IMO if one roo is obviously favored by all the hens and is all around a good leader then the other roo should go.

So far I've seen no major fighting or blood shed between my 2 boys but if it happens I will cull the BJG. Only keeping him around as a backup breeder in case something happens to the maran over winter.

I know it is easy to get attached to your birds as you raise them up but if push comes to shove you gotta keep the peace one way or another. 2 roos to 4 hens is not good, even if the roos aren't fighting they will damage the hens with over mating. As this spring was my first time raising chickens and I had a total of 9 cockerels, I learned to not get too attached. Eventually all the cockerels being bad teenage boys made me mad enough to process most of them. Currently eating one such cockerel right now, he was a jerk but delicious!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes, dominance on two levels. The boys are mounting the girls to establish and demonstrate dominance over them. Typical behavior, whether those pullets are laying or not. They are showing or trying for flock dominance.

Between the two boys they have determined which one is dominant right now. They are still immature cockerels so that can change as they mature. It may not change. If it does it could be pretty violent or relatively peaceful. At some point they could fight to the death, especially if your space if fairly tight but they could even if space is not tight. They may reach an accommodation in how to take care of the flock together. With living animals you don't get guarantees of either disaster or total success. Each individual has its own personality. Each flock has its own dynamics. We all keep them in different conditions.

If you have enough room (which most of us don't) the boys may eventually set up their own territory where they can avoid the other. The girls will decide which one they want to be with. They don't always choose the same one. Even with enough room it does not always work out like this. You just never know with living animals.

Unlike others on this forum I don't know for certain what will happen in the future with yours. Things might work out but I'd have a place to isolate one of the boys if they don't. You may need it on a moment's notice.

I don't know what your goals are in having those boys. The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preference, I have a few myself, but that is a choice, not a need.

I generally recommend that you keep as few boys as you can and still meet your goals. That is not because you are guaranteed more problems with more boys but because the more boys you have the more likely you are to have problems. For many people on this forum the best number of boys is 0 or 1, but many very successfully keep multiple boys. We are all different.

To me, you have several options. You could leave them alone and see what happens but be ready to intervene. You could get rid of one or both boys. You could build a bachelor's pad and keep those two boys in it without any girls to fight over. You can isolate one boy and leave the other with the girls. I don't know which best suits your goals.

Good luck!