Rooster Drama & questions

[FlyingC]

So about a month go, a fox got into the chicken yard and took a hen and rooster. This left me with one Ameracauna rooster, Mr Roo, who is not yet a year old. About a week ago, my husband surprised me with a Barred rock rooster named Tucker, also about a year old, and it's been rooster drama ever since. They finally went at each other yesterday, with the only apparent injuries being bleeding combs and wattles, as neither rooster has spurs. It would appear Tucker won, as Mr. Roo now won't go anywhere near him, and when Tucker chased him this morning, Mr. Roo squawked and bawked like death was imminent.

So now I have a few issues: Tucker keeps tilting his head to the right and will occasionally shake it like something is bothering him. What's wrong with him?

Mr. Roo won't go near Tucker who a is hanging out by the coop, and I'm worried Mr. Roo won't get enough to eat. How long is Mr. Roo going to act like Tucker is Godzilla? Do I need to set up another feeder for him?

Finally, Tucker just won't shut up, and IDK if this is because he's the new cock-of-the-block, or if he is just an obnoxious gabby rooster. Will he stop crowing all the time once things settle down?

Thank you for any advice/answers,
Cori

 

[Aapomp831]

It’s never a good idea to have two roosters unless you have an emergency plan. The two you originally had may have gotten along, but even that could have changed at any time. He will more than likely not settle down with the crowing, as two roosters like to compete with each other and crowing is a display of dominance and a claim to territory. I hate to say it but they will probably never get along - you may need to have them permanently separated.

 

[halefamily_flock]

I try to introduce new cockerels to the flock at 2-4 months old, to make integration with existing roosters easier. However, it appears that your roosters may have sorted things out on their own. You can check Mr. Roo's crop at the end of the day to see if it's full. If so, he's getting enough to eat. If he's running & squawk-bawking away from the top rooster, he's keeping himself safe. The problems come when roosters don't back down and continue to challenge #1 until the bloody end...then you have a real problem. Here is a story of my rooster management, to give some perspective: keeping-peace-in-the-chicken-yard-despite-too-many-roosters-and-interfering-with-pecking-order

It's not a bad idea to have multiple feeders, both for competing roosters and hens. How many hens do you have? Are they free ranging? If so, how much space do they have to range? I have 3 roosters, a young cockerel and 23 hens free ranging currently. I have 2 feeders in the coop, and put out at least 1 additional feeder & waterer, sometimes 2 in areas where they like to hang out during the day. We have hawks, which the flock has become quite savvy toward. The result is crowing pretty much constantly all day long. It's how they communicate both danger and safety to the rest of the flock.

Good luck with your boys!

 

[aart]

Why do you need 2 males?
How many females do you have?
How much space do you have, coop/run/range?

 

[theoldchick]

https://timbercreekfarmer.com/5-tips-for-pecking-order-drama/

https://www.purelypoultry.com/blog/integrating-new-flock-members-into-existing-flock/

 

[SulkyBantam]

Why do you need 2 males?

^^^
I'm sorry this is happening. It must be very stressful.
but yes, it may never work out.

 

[Eden83_haaretz]

I try to introduce new cockerels to the flock at 2-4 months old, to make integration with existing roosters easier. However, it appears that your roosters may have sorted things out on their own. You can check Mr. Roo's crop at the end of the day to see if it's full. If so, he's getting enough to eat. If he's running & squawk-bawking away from the top rooster, he's keeping himself safe. The problems come when roosters don't back down and continue to challenge #1 until the bloody end...then you have a real problem. Here is a story of my rooster management, to give some perspective: keeping-peace-in-the-chicken-yard-despite-too-many-roosters-and-interfering-with-pecking-order

It's not a bad idea to have multiple feeders, both for competing roosters and hens. How many hens do you have? Are they free ranging? If so, how much space do they have to range? I have 3 roosters, a young cockerel and 23 hens free ranging currently. I have 2 feeders in the coop, and put out at least 1 additional feeder & waterer, sometimes 2 in areas where they like to hang out during the day. We have hawks, which the flock has become quite savvy toward. The result is crowing pretty much constantly all day long. It's how they communicate both danger and safety to the rest of the flock.

Good luck with your boys!

Could the roosters getting along also have to do with breeds?
My rooster (is a mix between a Hatch and a similar but smaller breed we call Habanero) likes to give us lots of roosters when the chickens hatch his eggs... , until recently I had him, then another one of his sons, now an adult that he constantly bullies (doesn't look much like him because the chicken he mated with was white he looks like a Hatch Giro), and then we had four other cockrells, that looked just like him, with which he really rarely bullied (only when they were trying to mount his hens and they hurt them).
We got rid of the four and we don't want to get rid of the Giro because he's super sweet and allows us to pet him and carry him around. Guess we might have to keep two separate flocks...

 

[Chickassan]

You brought a stranger into Mr.Roo's established territory, that is never a good idea.
Not only do you have rooster drama between two birds you've put yourself in there too since you are the keeper.
Mr.Roo is forever changed, the interloper isn't related and challenged him in a space he's been king in for over a year.
I don't see this working out, im very sorry.

 

[SulkyBantam]

You brought a stranger into Mr.Roo's established territory, that is never a good idea.
Not only do you have rooster drama between two birds you've put yourself in there too since you are the keeper.
Mr.Roo is forever changed, the interloper isn't related and challenged him in a space he's been king in for over a year.
I don't see this working out, im very sorry.

I'm afraid I agree, Mr Roo's life has been completely disrupted. But I hope you find a way to keep them both happy.

 

[halefamily_flock]

Could the roosters getting along also have to do with breeds?
My rooster (is a mix between a Hatch and a similar but smaller breed we call Habanero) likes to give us lots of roosters when the chickens hatch his eggs... , until recently I had him, then another one of his sons, now an adult that he constantly bullies (doesn't look much like him because the chicken he mated with was white he looks like a Hatch Giro), and then we had four other cockrells, that looked just like him, with which he really rarely bullied (only when they were trying to mount his hens and they hurt them).
We got rid of the four and we don't want to get rid of the Giro because he's super sweet and allows us to pet him and carry him around. Guess we might have to keep two separate flocks...

Yes. There may be a difference in breeds. Some are more aggressive than others. But much comes down to individual personalities. I have read that related roosters get along better than unrelated, and have seen that play out in my flock.