Picking a cockerel to keep?

[Folly's place]

You will need to move one of your cockrels on, because there's just not a big enough group for both, and they are sparing a lot. I would NOT let either bird perch on me, and Never have any bird in pecking distance to your face!!! At this point I think that Wyatt will be the best boy to keep; Ringo is showing some less desirable traits, IMO. I've had a few SS cockrels, and exactly half of them were nice. The others turned out to be human aggressive, and started out 'friendly'. My one splash Wyandotte was big and wonderful, and he did mature later. Both birds are beautiful, and it will be a tough decision to make. Give them more time to sort out temperament if you can. Mary

 

[aart]

'Rape' is not a term I would apply to animals, mating can be rough stuff especially at onset of sexual maturity.
It's hard call to make as having multiple males changes their behavior and aggression is escalated due to competition.
Remove one and the other's demeanor can drastically change, so it's hard to truly assess a cock/erel when another is present.
You might just have to make the decision and live with the consequences, removing one of the males now would be a good idea for the sake of the girls.
Large foldable dog crates and a secure protected place to set them up out of sight of the flock are very handy.

 

[lpyrbby]

'Rape' is not a term I would apply to animals, mating can be rough stuff especially at onset of sexual maturity.
It's hard call to make as having multiple males changes their behavior and aggression is escalated due to competition.
Remove one and the other's demeanor can drastically change, so it's hard to truly assess a cock/erel when another is present.
You might just have to make the decision and live with the consequences, removing one of the males now would be a good idea for the sake of the girls.
Large foldable dog crates and a secure protected place to set them up out of sight of the flock are very handy.

I know rape isn't a legitimate term to apply to animals, promise. I have an odd, not always detectable sense of humor, especially via text.

Ringo is still in the rooster dog house, but since I didn't bring a lot of treats to distract everyone tonight, I saw more of what's happening. Wyatt actually appears to be getting the hang of what he's supposed to be doing and being slightly less of a jerk. Ringo wants to overthrow Wyatt but still doesn't have the cajones to do so. Wyatt would be mating, Ringo would run up and stand there until he was almost done and then flail at them to try and knock Wyatt off, and then would run off. And Ringo snuck a few laps in with various ladies. When Wyatt came to charge at him, he'd hop off and run and try to hide behind me. I didn't let Ringo visit with me today because tensions were a bit high in the run, at least what I could see from Wyatt. When Ringo was chased off a hen and ran behind me, I got up and moved because I'm not about to get in the middle of all that. I'll be selecting a new spot for my chair in the run when I go visit so he can't run behind me anymore.

I'm still watching, trying to determine the course of action to take. I wish I had another coop to move Ringo, Nona, and Reba into. Those two ladies were part of the original four I got. Gonna keep thinking. I technically have another coop, but it needs repairs :/ I don't know how to fix what needs to be fixed.

 

[nikkers390]

Depending on the total hens you have, I personally would keep both roosters. As long as there are no serious, blood letting fights, let them sort out who will be the main rooster. Pecking order applies to roosters and hens. I have 5 roosters in my flock of 40 hens. The top rooster and the second in command keep the other boys in check. As long as the hens are not harmed it should be OK. Hens have a preference for the roosters. If one of the submissives tries to mate with her she will squawk bloody murder and one of the dominant ones rush in and restore order.
This is my experience, others have theirs. It's a matter of just observing and see what happens.

 

[lpyrbby]

Depending on the total hens you have, I personally would keep both roosters. As long as there are no serious, blood letting fights, let them sort out who will be the main rooster. Pecking order applies to roosters and hens. I have 5 roosters in my flock of 40 hens. The top rooster and the second in command keep the other boys in check. As long as the hens are not harmed it should be OK. Hens have a preference for the roosters. If one of the submissives tries to mate with her she will squawk bloody murder and one of the dominant ones rush in and restore order.
This is my experience, others have theirs. It's a matter of just observing and see what happens.

I only have enough hens for one roo :/ 10 ladies to 2 boys. Maybe they will level out, but I'm kinda doubting it at this point. I was hopeful for more peace since they were raised together but it is coming into question now, of course.

 

[Choco Maran]

I have four rooster for 18 ladies. All four roosters grow up together and have never had a fight, and they are just a couple months over one year old. Let them work out who has what hens . They should get along fine if not separate them with a few hens of their own.

 

[lpyrbby]

I have four rooster for 18 ladies.  All four roosters grow up together and have never had a fight, and they are just a couple months over one year old.   Let them work out who has what hens .  They should get along fine if not separate them with a few hens of their own.

Do you let yours free range? Part of me thinks having both boys with just those few hens would be easier if I were able to free range. I cant yet though. Not until we get perimeter fencing up. Sadly, that's not in the budget yet, try as I might to sock money away.

 

[aart]

I'm still watching, trying to determine the course of action to take. I wish I had another coop to move Ringo, Nona, and Reba into. Those two ladies were part of the original four I got. Gonna keep thinking. I technically have another coop, but it needs repairs :/ I don't know how to fix what needs to be fixed.

You'll figure it out...and learn a lot along the way.

What's wrong with the other coop?
Start another thread maybe or send me pics?
Maybe it could be put back into service.

 

[lpyrbby]

You'll figure it out...and learn a lot along the way.

What's wrong with the other coop?
Start another thread maybe or send me pics?
Maybe it could be put back into service.

You've been a reliable contributor on my posts for a while

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1035063/rehabbing-a-coop-need-thoughts-opinions-lotsa-pics

The money we spent on the hoop coop...actually I'm fairly certain we would have saved money to pay someone to come fix the old coop lol. Anyway, I tried selling this old coop for cheap, but people were only interested in the run, so we sold that. I would have to fix the roof leak some how, replace chicken wire with hardware cloth (though I actually still have that leftover), fabricate a new roost, take a look at the floor, and add a new run to the outside (probably with cattle panels and t posts, since I really like how sturdy they are).

 

[Intheswamp]

I posted a reply to your coop rehabbing thread. Looks like you have a good building to work with, lots of potential....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ed-thoughts-opinions-lotsa-pics#post_17378502

Ed