Problems with roos

amsunshine

Songster
9 Years
Mar 24, 2010
207
4
121
Kansas
I got 2 grown roos, for free, from a woman who had a mixed flock (turkeys, geese, chickens, ducks). They are Polish Golden Crested. Mind-bogglingly beautiful. They've been working OK for the 3 months we've had them, but as our younger chicks are growing up (2 different age groups of younger chicks), they are getting more and more aggressive and territorial. They were nice to me at first, but now they come at me aggressively when they see me pick up another chicken, though they've never made physical contact--they just rush me. They get along great with each other, but not so much with other chicks. They are so dominant that they rule the whole farmyard (and that's 2 acres right around the home place). They have caused such terror in the coop that I am now allowing them to free-range 24-7. We'll see what happens. If they weren't so gorgeous they'd be in the stew pot based on their behavior the last 2 days. I realize we created our own problems by getting chicks at different times, but seems to me they should have gotten used to each other by now. Is there anything I can do? I'd hate to get rid of my two handsome boys.
 
I would probably try putting one back with the flock, and housing the other where the two roosters couldn't see each other. How many females are there?
 
Keep them separate until the flock matures and then reintroduce them. There will be chaos for a period of time - allow things to settle down (matter of days) and then reassess their behavior. Much of what they are doing sounds like nothing more than normal rooster behavior.
 
Females...hm, not quite sure yet as some are straight run. One age group is 7 weeks old, and one age group is about 9 weeks old. I've separated the 9-week-old group, putting 6 of the cocks into their own quarters in another barn. I left 2 cocks and 3 hens from that 9-week-old group in the main coop. One of the cocks is a Rhode Island Red, and he is fast and alert and I think he will do well when he fully matures--and he's a beauty to boot. In the 7-week-old group, there are 19. I know that 12 are hens, as they were ordered as heavy pullets. About the rest I am not sure, as they're the Crested Top Hat group--and they consist of Spitzhaubens and Polish Cresteds.
 
That's reassuring to know that it seems like normal behavior. At how many weeks/months old for the youngest group would you suggest reintroducing, and where? We would like them all to free range during the day, as we've a nice area between the house and main the barn that sees a lot of human activity so I'm anticipating minimal losses from daytime predators.
 

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