Oops, Two Roosters- need advice

[MizzHen]

Hello, when one of my hens became broody, my kids convinced me to get three chicks to make her happy. I ended up with a straight run and two grew up to be roosters. They’re about seven months old now and crow back and forth nonstop. They get along with each other as brothers and rarely wrestle, but one is obviously dominant. With two acres, they choose to spend all their time a few feet apart, trying to outcrow the other. This has become upsetting to my husband. The alpha rooster has also now begun jumping on my hens, which the ladies do not appreciate. The hens get very upset and fight with him. When this happens, the two roosters then gang up and attack the hen. I am thinking about getting rid of one of the roosters or both. My hope is that with one rooster, he will stop trying to show off to the other and become nicer to the hens. What do you think? Should I get rid of both or just one? If I keep one, will the dominant rooster make a better rooster to keep for my flock or the other one? Thank you!

 

[Sablehaven]

I would personally get rid of the dominant one, and keep the one who has no conflict with the hens.

He may be low on the rung for a while, but they will be able to teach him manners, and hopefully he'll be a good rooster.

Getting along with the hens has always been my priority with roosters

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Just because they don't harass hens now doesn't mean they won't when the dominant male is gone. I'd get rid of both and try again next time

 

[Anime2lover]

Hello, when one of my hens became broody, my kids convinced me to get three chicks to make her happy. I ended up with a straight run and two grew up to be roosters. They’re about seven months old now and crow back and forth nonstop. They get along with each other as brothers and rarely wrestle, but one is obviously dominant. With two acres, they choose to spend all their time a few feet apart, trying to outcrow the other. This has become upsetting to my husband. The alpha rooster has also now begun jumping on my hens, which the ladies do not appreciate. The hens get very upset and fight with him. When this happens, the two roosters then gang up and attack the hen. I am thinking about getting rid of one of the roosters or both. My hope is that with one rooster, he will stop trying to show off to the other and become nicer to the hens. What do you think? Should I get rid of both or just one? If I keep one, will the dominant rooster make a better rooster to keep for my flock or the other one? Thank you!

Are your hens used to roos? The hens may be fighting them because they aren't used to being mounted or may have never even seen a too. That could be a big part of it.

 

[MizzHen]

Just because they don't harass hens now doesn't mean they won't when the dominant male is gone. I'd get rid of both and try again next time

I’ve never had roosters before, so I don’t really know if there is a benefit to having one. So far, it’s been a slightly negative experience. So perhaps getting rid of both is the way to go.

 

[MizzHen]

Are your hens used to roos? The hens may be fighting them because they aren't used to being mounted or may have never even seen a too. That could be a big part of it.

No, I’ve never had roosters before. The roosters were introduced to the hens as chicks so I thought they’d all grow up and be used to each other. It seems the two guys stick together like buddies and the hens keep their distance now. If they interact, there’s tension. The two Roos against the hens.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I’ve never had roosters before, so I don’t really know if there is a benefit to having one. So far, it’s been a slightly negative experience. So perhaps getting rid of both is the way to go.

Benefits are stunning male colors, fertile eggs and possibly a male that protects his girls from some smaller predators

 

[Anime2lover]

No, I’ve never had roosters before. The roosters were introduced to the hens as chicks so I thought they’d all grow up and be used to each other. It seems the two guys stick together like buddies and the hens keep their distance now. If they interact, there’s tension. The two Roos against the hens.

My newest hen acted the same way when she first met a too. She'd never seen a too in her life until we picked her up. She avoided him for weeks. If that is indeed the problem, then your hens may take time to get used to the idea of roos. It may also be less stressful if you start with only one too that you know is a good one.

 

[-Clementine-]

Younger roosters have a problem with crowing. If they have nice temperament, then their crowing should slow down eventually. If they don't have nice temperament, then I would suggest getting rid of one of them, and if the other one doesn't get any better, get rid of him too. Keeping around a rooster you don't like is never a good idea. Also, don't let a bad rooster soil your opinion on them, I've cycled through a couple mean roos, but most of the roosters I've had are incredibly nice to me, and to their flock

 

[Ridgerunner]

Why do you want any boys? What are your goals in regard to roosters? The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Everything else is personal preference. Nothing wrong with personal preference, I have a few of those myself. Those can be strong motivators.

My suggestion is to keep as few boys as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed problems with more roosters but that problems are more likely. You need to decide if 0, 1 or 2 is the right number for you.

I raise cockerels with my flock every year. Until the immature cockerels reach a certain maturity level most mature hens want nothing to do with them. They want the potential father of their chicks to be worthy, not some immature brat with just one thing on their mind. Sometimes they may beat the snot out of that brat, sometimes they run away. The boys often have hormones running out of control and they are often bigger than the hens so they use force. Once the cockerel matures into a rooster he usually gains control of those hormones and the girls are more likely to accept him. But as someone once said on here, watching a cockerel go through puberty is often not for the faint of heart. Even when they mature, multiple roosters does not always work.

When you have two or more cockerels the competition between them can make them misbehave even worse. When you have two or more they will decide which one is dominant. The dominant one suppresses the behaviors of the other boys. It is really hard to determine how they will treat the girls when they grow up. As JacinLarkwell said, if you remove the dominant one the other's behaviors can dramatically change.

I don't know what the right answer for you is. If you don't have a strong desire for one I'd think 0 is a good number. I want fertile eggs so I need one. I tend to select the more dominant one. I find that they usually are more capable of winning over the hens by the force of their personality once they mature than one that is less dominant. The less dominant may need to rely more on force to achieve and maintain the top position. That's not a sure fire thing though. It is very possible either will have plenty of personality to take over once they mature. Or both may be weak characters that have to rely on force instead of charisma. Choosing which one is not always easy.