Odd Rooster Behavior

[Jacob Lockcuff]

Hey everyone. I have 3 roosters. One is about 3-4 years old, a middle one is about 2 years old, and a younger one is 1 year. All are Plymouth Rock. I currently have 19 hens.

The oldest has been the alpha for as long as he has been around. Nobody has ever taken him on and won. The middle rooster is sort of the omega. The youngest is not my favorite rooster and sort of sits on the outskirts. The hens do not like him and he rarely gets a chance to mate.
Last night I found my oldest alpha rooster and the youngest both covered in blood. The oldest was very rough and I found him down below the chicken coop in our field. The youngest was on the roost of the coop along with the middle rooster. I had seen the roosters fighting earlier in the day, but I didn’t think much of it. It turns out that now my oldest alpha rooster no longer seems to be the alpha. I believe the middle rooster is now alpha, and he and the youngest are both being very, very aggressive towards my oldest rooster. They will not let him near the hens. The hens still highly dislike the youngest.

Now my oldest rooster will not come near the coop, even in the evening when it’s to go in. They won’t let him eat. I am not so sure what to do. I really like the looks of my oldest rooster. The middle rooster is very nice as well, but the youngest is ugly. I don’t want him.

It almost looks like the two roosters ganged up on my oldest, and that is why he’s in such bad shape. I’ve considered culling him, but I do not want to rush to conclusions. How would you handle this situation? My chickens are 100% free range.

 

[cherrynberry]

Hey everyone. I have 3 roosters. One is about 3-4 years old, a middle one is about 2 years old, and a younger one is 1 year. All are Plymouth Rock. I currently have 19 hens.

The oldest has been the alpha for as long as he has been around. Nobody has ever taken him on and won. The middle rooster is sort of the omega. The youngest is not my favorite rooster and sort of sits on the outskirts. The hens do not like him and he rarely gets a chance to mate.
Last night I found my oldest alpha rooster and the youngest both covered in blood. The oldest was very rough and I found him down below the chicken coop in our field. The youngest was on the roost of the coop along with the middle rooster. I had seen the roosters fighting earlier in the day, but I didn’t think much of it. It turns out that now my oldest alpha rooster no longer seems to be the alpha. I believe the middle rooster is now alpha, and he and the youngest are both being very, very aggressive towards my oldest rooster. They will not let him near the hens. The hens still highly dislike the youngest.

Now my oldest rooster will not come near the coop, even in the evening when it’s to go in. They won’t let him eat. I am not so sure what to do. I really like the looks of my oldest rooster. The middle rooster is very nice as well, but the youngest is ugly. I don’t want him.

It almost looks like the two roosters ganged up on my oldest, and that is why he’s in such bad shape. I’ve considered culling him, but I do not want to rush to conclusions. How would you handle this situation? My chickens are 100% free range.

I would take him in until he is cured/healed. And then reintroduce them using the see no touch. Are you going to get rid of a few roosters, I think you only have enough hens for 2 roosters max/

 

[Acre4Me]

I’d get rid of the youngest/ugly/not preferred One. You have no interest in him, so freezer camp/soup or give away.

2. The middle male is alpha, let him be the alpha.

3. Give oldest his own area/pen. He isn’t likely to be alpha ever again. I’ve seen this happen, and the only way we were successful in reinstating the beaten one (our preferred one) was to remove ALL other post-puberty males. If you want, make him a pen with 1-2 females that are his flock. You like him and his personality snd looks, so hatch some males from him to grow up in the flock (but weed out the ones you don’t want by 16 weeks so they don’t create puberty induced havoc).
Good luck.

 

[aart]

Choose the one you really want to keep, get rid of the others.