They say....they being all those people with more experience than myself....that if you put the roosters batchelor pad off away where they can't see the hens that the fighting will stop. When the fighting broke out I built a chicken tractor and four beat up one of their own. That made me mad so I turned them loose in the garden. When one dropped his wing and sidestepped me as I was going out to feed it no longer mattered that I had raised them from chicks. They went to freezer camp.
Eventually I pulled the remaining roosters out and have made three separate runs. Each rooster has his own girls. I watched closely and tried to keep the roos with behaviors I liked. It really did not matter with one of them.....he does not like me and comes at me when I go into the run. I am working with him now and trying to establish seniority....seems to be getting better. He never was aggressive until he got his girls and he is really, really good with them and not hard on them at all. So, I will continue working with him until I win. He does not even go at my husband...only me and I am the one that is always in there feeding and taking care of them. I think he would rather I was another hen. I have a wire grate that is really light that I carry in with me now and I can lift him and displace him if he comes at me. I am not scared of him but I am not going to allow him to come at me.
My cochin rooster is still gentle and sweet as always. And he has his girls!
My BO rooster is the same and might cluck at me if I go in his run but never comes at me. He acts just like the girls thinking I might have treats. But has shown no aggression towards me as yet and his is the run I am in the most. I fully expect him to come at me and always think about it. Eventually, I will not have a rooster in that pen. The girls are my layers where I get my eggs and I simply don't need a rooster in there. So his sidestepping days will begin his trip to the freezer.
My cochins I want to continue to raise and hope they will eventually go broody on me. The Barred Rocks I want to keep pure and hope to improve on over time. Their eggs will go to the first broody cochin. I think....
But too many roosters are nothing but problems in the coop and run. They will fight for top spot because that is their nature. This has been a big lesson to me. All the fighting stresses the hens....and me. I won't go through multiple roos in the same run again. The runs are all next to my garden and I let them out in their own groups to free range on occasion in the garden. My runs are all large and I provide them with fresh greens and boss a couple of days a week. They are all healthy and seem content.
Too many roosters just make it hard on everyone. So, my advice, from my experience is if you are going to keep them all, keep them far enough away that they can't see the hens and try it and see if the serious fighting quits.
