Pecking Order... Problems Rooster and Cockerell

[Beamerz]

My flock is:
initial generation......15 hens and 1 Polish Roo New Chicks Early Spring 2020
2nd Gen was 5 white chicks and 5 guinea hens New Chicks Early Summer? "
The 2ns Gen got wiped out by hawks leaving one White Poli Cockerell and ( 4 guineas which I gave away recently ) my white poli cockerell thought he was a guinea and suffered a second loss.. lost all his hatchling mates before his eyes as a chick ,.. then the guineas disappeared a few months ago... He is sweet and very intelligent.. and a real love.. but the only slightly older Black Roo won't have him in any way.. and bullies him severely... I just had a bug problem and had isolated the White Cockerell to recover from horrible pecking which had fully healed.. I spent two days dipping chickens , spraying them , cleaning the coop, bombing it... etc.. etc.. the Cockerell treatment had preceeded the other by two days.. but yesterday I did the rest of the flock and cleaned the coop.. I washed all the chickens in a neem oil dip ( will also DE and Spray today) and it seemed to work great. I put all the chickens in a small bathroom with an electric heater so I could dry them up before putting them back in their coop last night and i included the formely head pecked Cockerell in the drying party as he'd been alone in a separate shed for almost a week healing and had fully healed.. He was the first one I notice the bugs on and I'd figured maybe they had pecked him because he was buggy... I'd noticed the other head roo poli had been pecked when I treated all for bugs.. ( Cockerell could not have done that had not been with him for a week)... Long story short they all go along so well at the drying party in the bathroom I put them all back in the coop together late last night...
This morning Cockerell was totally melted down and had been pecked as badly as before ... I was angry with myself for not suspecting this could happen again. I absolutly adore both of these birds and I know getting rid of one of them would solve the problem ... How can I manage to keep both? I'm wide open to be informed.. by all of you... let it roll. Thanks in advance.. They have both been raised in a home with people and treated as pets until we finished our coop ( took like forever to assemble and finish)... ( I know rule #1 coop first then chickens).... They are both pets and generally well manered and sweet birds.. all I need to do is say I'm going to pick you up and they just stand there.. no nasty roo behaviors from either.. but this head pecking thing with the cockerell... I have to isolate him and he is wanting "hens" now that he's almost fully grown.. I'm afraid to put any hens with him for fear they peck him.. Ideas welcomed!

 

[Yardmom]

Flock integration is always a challenge. Adding a lone roo will be extremely tough. You could try see no touch for awhile,then provide hiding places, but the two roos would still have to work out pecking order. Depending on the roos how hard they will fight. It has been done as roo transitions do need to happen, but you would probably have better luck giving the cockeral his own hens, but you would need space for that. I always add new cockerals when They are still chicks with other chicks. Sometimes it works. I have had to take a younger roo out because he would have killed my older roosters. My current cockeral seems to be getting along fine but dominating older rooster s after some mild fights.

 

[Mrs. K]

You might try pin-less peepers, but really, I think it should be one or the other. Roosters in my opinion, take a lot of space, more so then hens. More roosters, a lot more space. It is a hard decision to make, but you will like the flock better without this behavior. And birds fighting, upset the birds around them too.

 

[Mtnboomer]

I usually keep only one adult rooster in my flock at a time but i have found success in the past with 2 roos.

Keeping each bird busy tending hens will reduce fighting. It is often recommended to have at least 12 hens per rooster. I could not house that many and fell way short but my boys got along fine. I kept 2 roosters with 14 hens together in the same coop and there was zero aggression. Overbreeding csn be a big concern, but i had no troubles with this pair (other pairs it was). They were brahma brothers and that may have played a part i don't know. Both were very gentle with the hens and showed no aggression towards my family or myself.
My adult flock is 100% free range and are only locked in the coop at night. I let thdm out at day break and they go inside on their own about a half hour before sundown. That was the key to my success IMO. They had all the space they wanted all day long. They often would split into 2 flocks when they left the coop but the combination of hens eith rooster would often vary. Adequate free choice feed and water was always available so there was no need to compete over resources.

Integration of a new, especially younger rooster is darn near impossible. Best suggestion I would offer is to provide all the resources for both boys and as much available space/separation as possible. Eliminate the need for competition to reduce the perception of a threat.
Oh, and the other thing you'll need a lot of is luck!

 

[Folly's place]

Some sparring is fine, but this sounds way worse, and things have to change for everyone's sake.
Either two separate coops, so each cockerel has company, or move one of them on. It might be possible to have them all outside, plenty of space, more hens, extra feeders and waterers, and have things work out. or not, and I'm sure you don't want one or both severely injured or dead.
Having cockerels grow up in the flock works out best, and any real separation can be the end of compatibility. Sometimes cockerels or adult roosters just decide that they can't co-exist, and then it's time for that Plan B.
I think your boys may have reached that point.
Mary

 

[Mtnboomer]

The last rooster pair i had did not go as well as the the ones described above. We enjoyed one of their companies last night in a delicious pot of chicken soup.