Rooster aggression

[Seed223]

Are they brother roos? We have 8 hens and 2 roos but they have hatched and grown together so don't fight. Can you rehome?

Yes they hatched together and have been raised with each other - that's why I think they sleep together and eat/drink together. You almost always see them together when they are out in the yard.... Also, only the OE roo crows, the BO roo doesn't crow and I'm not sure he really mates the hens, especially since it's hard for him to balance. I'm assuming the feather plucking is aggression, is it possible that the OE roo is just establishing that he is the head roo?

 

[Seed223]

A very nice setup, although in my book too small to house 14 normal sized chicken, two of them being young and hormonal cockerels.

I would build another coop and run just like the one you already have and separate the roosters giving each 6 pullets.

Do you let them out of the run at all to roam in your yard or do they have to stay in there all the time?

Yes, I know it's definitely too small.... We had never intended on having 14 chickens! Haha. We have considered building another coop on the opposite side of the run and expanding the run out some but we have wondered if they will naturally separate to the individual coops or will they all still go into the same one they've been in the whole time? We do let them out to roam - we used to let them free range all day every day but in the last week there have been a ton of hawks flying over our yard that aren't scared of our dog or us. The plucking seems to happen mostly at night in the coop, I try to wake up as soon as it gets light outside and let them out but I think they are still able to see well enough to pluck each other. Do you think they will know to go to the other coop if we build a second one?

 

[LaFleche]

Do you think they will know to go to the other coop if we build a second one?

As chicken are creatures of habit, I doubt it.

 

[SulkyBantam]

Yes its a dominance issue. So sorry but I don't think they will get on...

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't think your hen to rooster ratio is your problem. 7 to 1 is my normal ratio and I don't have issues with that. Your 6 to 1 does not raise any real flags with me.

Your coop and run look very small. In Central Kentucky your chickens should pretty much be able to be outside all day every day so that helps a lot with that tiny coop but still your overall room is tight. Tight space can make any behavioral problems worse. Yours are only 4-1/2 months old, they still have a lot of puberty to got through, behaviors can change during puberty. Right now it looks like tight space isn't causing much of a problem but don't be surprised if it does in the not to distant future.

The one who is getting plucked has always had a limp and hobbles when he tries to run

I think this could have a lot to do with your problem. You kept a special-needs chicken. Often these are picked on, if not by another rooster then by the hens. Your pullets are not hens yet just like your cockerels are not roosters yet. As they mature behaviors can change. Sometimes the flock (sometimes rooster, sometimes hens) decides to rid itself of a weak chicken, male or female. It is an instinct left over from when they were feral, way before they were domesticated. Sick or injured chickens attract predators. They don't want predators attracted to where the flock hangs out. That's a danger to the entire flock.

So what can you do. You have eliminated getting rid of him so I wont waste my time with that.

I think your best option is to build him separate quarters for the day and at night. That's coop and run. You can keep him across wire from the others if you want but keep him separate day and night. There are different ways to do that. You could keep him by himself, that's not a horrible quality of life. But I'd give a lot of consideration to putting a few pullets in with him and see how that goes. I'd give it a really good chance of working out. The only way to find out is to try it. That would help your potential overcrowding issue also. I am concerned I'll see a post this winter asking why your chickens are brutalizing each other because of the lack of space.

My ideal solution would be to build a new coop and run big enough for the entire flock, with a connection to your current coop and run. That would give you a tremendous amount of flexibility in managing chickens in the future for integration, broody hens, or housing injured chickens. Your situation will change, being able to be flexible can be a huge benefit.

You can keep going the way you are. It may work out, sometimes it does. With living animals you just don't know for sure.

One time I had a hen that was plucking neck feathers from the dominant rooster. He calmly stood there as she plucked them out, leaving a small bare spot. I locked him up for a day and night before I let them back together. That was the end of the feather plucking. You might try putting either cockerel in a cage in the run (coop is probably too small) for a day to see if that alters behaviors. It sometimes does. I'd keep that cage in the run so they can see each other to reduce the possibility of conflict when they are back together.

I don't know that the one cockerel plucking the other is aggression. That was not the case with the grown hen grooming that grown rooster. I may be totally wrong that the Buff Orp being crippled has anything to do with it. Even when you are looking at them you can't always tell what is going on, let alone over the internet. The Buff Ops physical condition my be why he isn't roosting, he just can't get up there. Or the others may not let him. Chicken society can be pretty complex.

Do you think they will know to go to the other coop if we build a second one?

Probably not. That's part of why I suggested if you build a new coop you make it large enough for all of them. If you separate them with wire so they have no option you might be able to train them to go to certain coops even if you open the runs up they can all mingle. But even then they may wind up in one coop anyway. I've had them do both.

 

[Seed223]

Thank you for responding. I know that our coop and run are too small - when you say that we should be able to let them free range all day in Central Kentucky do you think the hawks aren't an issue? We are in Lexington fairly close to downtown and the hawks have been hanging out above our house sometimes perching on the fence or low in the trees even while we are outside. This is the reason we have kept them in the run (which we will be expanding over the coming weeks). We have considered building a second coop since we had never planned on having 14 chickens.

Your pullets are not hens yet just like your cockerels are not roosters yet.

I may be confused about a pullet vs hen - we have 7 laying girls right now and 5 girls who are still pullets (the 4.5 month old ones, the laying hens are 6.5 months old but maybe they are still called pullets because of their age?). One of the roo's is mating with the laying hens because we get at least 4-5 fertilized eggs a day, I am assuming it is the olive egger since our orpington has that leg issue.

Sometimes the flock (sometimes rooster, sometimes hens) decides to rid itself of a weak chicken, male or female. It is an instinct left over from when they were feral, way before they were domesticated. Sick or injured chickens attract predators. They don't want predators attracted to where the flock hangs out. That's a danger to the entire flock.

I have definitely thought about this and wondered if this could be an issue. We have wondered if we should either find another home for the buff orpington or let him go (I'm not sure I have the heart to cull him so we would probably let the vet put him down). I am not sure how easy it would be to rehome a chicken with a disability?

You have eliminated getting rid of him so I wont waste my time with that.

We haven't ruled this out even though we are attached and it would be hard. If this is the best decision it is definitely something we would consider but we have the concerns above about it being hard to find him a home since he is special needs.

The Buff Ops physical condition my be why he isn't roosting, he just can't get up there. Or the others may not let him. Chicken society can be pretty complex.

He usually starts up on the roosting bar so we think that it has something to do with the others kicking him off. We are going to put a 4th roosting bar in there that's lower to the ground for him to see if that helps.

Is this something you think we can try to work through with a second coop and the pinless peepers for now? I feel so bad for the orpington. He is really the sweetest thing and I hate seeing him get picked on . Thank you again for your help!

 

[azygous]

Are you kidding? Chickens aren't going to do your mental bidding! You will need to teach them by repetively placing each on his own side. After a while perhaps it will become a habit. The odds are in your favor after spending days of repetition. Nothing is easy where chicken behavior is concerned.

 

[Seed223]

Are you kidding? Chickens aren't going to do your mental bidding! You will need to teach them by repetively placing each on his own side. After a while perhaps it will become a habit. The odds are in your favor after spending days of repetition. Nothing is easy where chicken behavior is concerned.

Hahaha I’m learning that!! I’m gonna try what you suggested tonight if I can find something around the house to separate the roost with. We will start doing this every night and see how it goes!

 

[Ridgerunner]

when you say that we should be able to let them free range all day in Central Kentucky do you think the hawks aren't an issue?

I was talking about them being able to leave the coop and go into the run, not free range. Sometimes they can be stuck in the coop.

For some people hawks are a huge issue. For some, not really. For some it's only during migrating season. I don't know why. Variety of hawk or the size of your chickens might play into it. Maybe how much food is available, whether that is rats, rabbits, or other birds. Terrain or how much activity you have. Hawks can be a problem.

I may be confused about a pullet vs hen - we have 7 laying girls right now and 5 girls who are still pullets (the 4.5 month old ones, the laying hens are 6.5 months old but maybe they are still called pullets because of their age?).

I saw where your cockerels are 4.5 months old and made the mistake thinking you girls were all the same age. I should know better than to assume.

Technically they are pullets and cockerels until they are a year old but that's not how I was using the terms. I was thinking about behaviors. There can be a big difference in behaviors between immature chickens and mature ones. My pullets tend to act like mature hens about the time they start to lay, whether that is at five months old or nine. Cockerels are harder. I've had a cockerel act pretty mature at 5 months, I've had them wait until 11 months. Most do OK around 7 months but it can really vary. The girls' behaviors can have an affect on that too. Some are more ready to accept a cockerel than others.

When the boys are immature hormones can take control. The boys have little to no self control and can get pretty wild either fighting each other or going after the girls to mate them or just dominate them. Immature girls don't know what is going on with the boys. They may fight back but usually try to run away. That doesn't calm the boys down any though I'm not sure much will. When they all become mature things tend to calm down a lot, but as someone on here once said watching cockerels and pullets go through puberty is often not for the faint of heart.

With your older pullets they may smack that cockerel around if he gets too feisty, but if you are getting fertile eggs they are pretty much accepting him. That is a good sign.

Is this something you think we can try to work through with a second coop and the pinless peepers for now?

You can certainly try. If you ever see blood try to isolate him pretty quickly, it can go downhill really rapidly.

Are you kidding? Chickens aren't going to do your mental bidding! You will need to teach them by repetively placing each on his own side. After a while perhaps it will become a habit. The odds are in your favor after spending days of repetition. Nothing is easy where chicken behavior is concerned.

That's funny but it has a lot of truth in it. Repetition can break habits or teach new ones.

 

[Seed223]

Thank you!! What you said about the girls - we have one pullet who hatched with the olive egger cockerel who chases him around the yard and tries to pluck the feathers out of him. It's kind of hilarious to watch, he runs away from her like his life depends on it . So I wonder if things will get easier with the two boys being together once they mature? If we can figure out a way to get through the next 6 months or so do you think they might settle down? We have thought about separating the orpington at night and letting him sleep by himself in our shed (on a roost in an enclosed area) and then letting him back out during the day until we can get another coop built. In my wildest dreams I would have never thought that chickens were so much work or so complicated when it comes to their interactions!! Thank you for your help again