Is this normal behavior of roosters establishing hierarchy? Or is it more serious?

[mintdeer]

This is my first time having more than one rooster so I don't know what's "normal" or what's concerning behavior. We have 24 hens and 2 roosters; one is about 2 years old (speckled sussex) and the other is a little over a year (black australorp). They free range all day and have a pretty big run and coop area that they go in at night. I never intended to have more than one rooster but someone we knew ended up with a rooster in their batch of chicks and wasn't allowed to have roosters, so we agreed to take him. We added him into the flock last summer when we was a few months old. They were fine for a long time, just relatively harmless behaviors like whenever one rooster would mate a hen the other would come running over and try to intervene but it never escalated to a fight. I saw them fighting only a few times, but it didn't last long. Now it seems like there's a more serious shift happening. The last few days the sussex rooster isn't hanging out with the flock, doesn't want to go home at night, and just kind of sits around most of the day. He's also just walking around making this loud mournful cry instead of his usual rooster calls (crowing, alarm calling, clucking to his hens). I thought he was hurt but I looked him over and he seems fine? I do see them fighting more but there's never any blood. However the australorp rooster is clearly winning all their fights but then he doesn't let the sussex rooster alone and keeps attacking as he's trying to get away. I don't like that and I worry the australorp is getting into bullying behavior rather than just establishing pecking order. Is this something to intervene with or is it normal rooster behavior?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

This type of behavior has been my personal experience. The senior rooster (several years older) with a new young rooster (a few months old) get along well enough for about a year. Until, the younger rooster matures and begins challenging the authority of the older rooster.

Some of them work it out. Others don't. I finally had to take my senior (by a number of years) aging Barnvelder and put him in with the broody hutch Silkies as he was getting picked on and hazed so much by his younger son when said son reached about 18 months.

I've seen it several times over. I keep hearing of members on BYC that have multiple roosters with no problems. But, then there are flocks like mine where the usurping underling just won't let it alone. My only solution was to remove the aging rooster...or remove the young rooster.

For years I had a partition up to separate the 2 flocks.

So I think it can work...sometimes...but when you see signs of serious hazing, like you are seeing, when the "crown has passed," if the senior rooster is not having a quality of life, then you may have to intervene.

LofMc

 

[ChickNanny13]

Never had roos cause as much as I'd love chicks running around, what do I do with all the cockerels & I live in a residential area. Does sound like the SS being older 7 thinking a more gentle breed has "given up".the Astralorp being younger and more 'dominate' breed has taken over.

 

[Folly's place]

It's just been a few days, and nobody is injured (yet) so you could give them more time to settle into the new social order. Be prepared to remove one of them on short notice though. Having two separate flocks could be an option, if you can do that. Or, arrange something so there's peace out there.
Our two roosters, four and two years of age, have had a changing of the guard recently, so far with no injuries. I will take steps if calm doesn't prevail, or if the older rooster's quality of life isn't up to par.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

What they said. We each get different results for many reasons. Each chicken has its own personality so they react differently. We have different amounts or room, our set-ups are different. Our management techniques vary. What is "normal" can vary each time, even in the same circumstances.

In a feral flock, a typical set-up is that you have one dominant rooster. He tolerates his sons staying in the flock until they mature enough to become a challenge, then he runs them out of his flock. Or one of them runs him out and takes over like you saw. The ones that are run out may claim a territory and attract his own harem to start a new flock or eventually go back and try to run the other rooster out to take control of the established flock. Sometimes that is not individuals but they form partnerships. In my opinion. what you are seeing is one of the many normals that are possible.

When they are talking about quality of life, sometimes when an older rooster is dethroned his spirit seems to be broken. He pretty much gives up. It doesn't always work to remove the younger one so he can again be dominant. A lot of his control of the flock is based on his spirit and self-confidence. Some can come back from that defeat but some cannot. Each situation is different.