My two roosters have started fighting.

[RonnieRennae]

hello @RonnieRennae - welcome to BYC

Has the 11 month old grown up in the flock, or did you buy him in?

I got him when he was 1 day old, he lived in the next pen until he was 4 mos old. Then I have had them together in the same big coop until the fighting began. My chickens all free range on a few acres of land. At night I keep the young one separated in the feed section of the big coop.

 

[RonnieRennae]

Welcome @RonnieRennae
My idea (not my own experience/only from reading ) is that you have 2 or maybe 3 options.

1. Improve separation (as Raingarden says)
2. Discard the young rooster
3. Free range (less stress/ more hiding places) but this choice can be hazardous and not sure if this is a real option. When the young rooster gets older he might get calmer. Maybe it doesn’t work now but it could in a year or so.

@Shadrach ?

My chickens do free range. When the young one gets out of his very large pen, he makes a beeline for the older rooster and attacks. I am hoping the young one will calm down, because he is usually so sweet I would hate to rehome him. Thanks for your input.

 

[RonnieRennae]

They won't get along again.
A more secure pen, or rehoming a rooster, those are the choices they've left you with.

When left to fight it out, the most common victor is the young rooster, leaving the elder to limp off (if he survives) an outcast from the flock. Even if the young successor is removed after that, the elder don't really get their mojo back, they've been broken.

That’s what I am worried about. I know the young one will win, but I have been through a lot with my older boy. He was attacked when he was 5 mos old and almost died. I did physical/psychological therapy on him for a month. We have bonded. So, I guess I will have to rehome my young one to keep the peace. My issue now is I just got 11 baby chicks and when added to my flock I will have 26 hens and just my older roo. I guess that will have to work.
Thanks for your input.

Welcome to BYC.



While nothing is totally impossible, it is extremely unlikely that they could ever get along again.

You can separate the birds into two flocks in separate coops -- preferably at a distance so that they can't fight through the wire -- or decide which one you prefer to keep and sell or eat the other.

I am starting to believe they will not be able to get along again. My chickens are pets and all have names so I will probably have to rehome my sweet young roo.

 

[RonnieRennae]

You can put him(them) on a tether, that's what they do with sporting birds.

Right now he is in a very large pen and most of the time stays in there, but somehow he manages to get out. So now I try to put at least one or two girls in with him and that seems to be working.

 

[Perris]

I have been through a lot with my older boy. He was attacked when he was 5 mos old and almost died. I did physical/psychological therapy on him for a month. We have bonded. So, I guess I will have to rehome my young one to keep the peace.

I can relate. The grandfather of my flock survived a brutal fox attack in 2020, with lots of tlc like yours. While he was recuperating, his son - then a week shy of his 1st birthday - took over as the dominant roo. In due course he tried to reassert his position but failed. As Yardmom said, you have to be willing to

let them fight it out (removeing and returning the cockeral over and over again just restart the fight)

They sparred several times but they did not fight to the death - nor was the elder marginalized over the next almost 3 years. He accepted his place as subordinate - I think the fact it was his son that was now dominant helped - which is why I asked if your youngster has been raised in the flock; does the old boy think he's family? The older roo continued to play an important and very useful role too, including looking after juveniles during the phase when they've been sent on their way by their broody but are not yet ready to join the adults, and keeping company and looking out for anyone self-isolating because they were feeling under the weather. I think his quality of life only really declined this last winter, because his sight had been failing for a while and there were 3 young turks maturing, who started to harass him and even gang up on him. He didn't fight back (because he thought they were his grandsons?) but just ran away, which worked until his eyesight got so bad he was crashing into even big things, and they wouldn't let him eat. They were trying to drive him away, not kill him. Ultimately at the end of Feb a neighbour saw him walking away on his own up the hill, and he's not been seen since. I honestly think he'd decided his quality of life had declined such that he's had enough. But up until that point, he was living and loving it. That was an extra 3 years - longer than a lot of chickens get to live at all.

Intervene if you feel you must, but you could let the birds decide for themselves, since you've said they are both very nice personalities.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Every few years I get a challenger. If it's better quality then I cull the current reigning cock. If it's going to happen it's in the spring when hormones raging and mating season is at it's peak. Doesn't happen every year and usually can run two or three cocks in the flock.

SourRoses hit the nail on the head when saying the loser of these battles is "broken" and lose their mojo. I've let it play out before and the fights can last many days and get bloddy. In the end the loser won't fight again and is harassed constantly. Better to pick the flock master you want and get rid of the other.

 

[BedRock Farm Ladies]

I have one 3 year old rooster who is very sweet and one 11 month old rooster who has grown very large. They used to get along great, but now it’s a fight to the death. I have 15 hens. I have to keep them separated, but if the young one escapes, he will seek out and try to destroy the older roo who will run away and try to hide. I love them both. They are good to the hens and great with people, but it is getting hard moving the roosters around morning and night and hoping the young one doesn’t escape without us knowing because he will kill my older boy. Any suggestions as to how to get these roosters to co-exist peacefully again?

Sounds like a big problem! If they’re pecking at eachother constantly biting combs and waddles while fighting, try and keep them away from eachother. Give them seperate times to go outside, etc. I had two Banty Roos who are brothers fight, I’ll just tell ya one lost half of his waddle and never fought the other again. If one is harmed badly, he will be picked on, which I know from experience. The younger roo may be sorting out what is called the pecking order, he is trying to become the boss roo, getting the most ladies to love him. If you do let them out together, watch them and if they fight too badly, seperate them as fast as possible. They should eventually stop, as my bantys are now 1 and have stopped fighting eachother as they were younger.

 

[Klutch]

It's good to have two roosters, just incase one of them has a accident and they do need enough space so the subordinate can run off and hide, when he needs to. It is always nice to be culling your own homegrown roos to improve your stock the way you sent out to do it.