Rooster Issues,

[finnegan2006]

At one point last fall, I decided to give up on my chickens and offered them to a neighbor. They seemed to settle in fine except that they kept wandering back over to my property (Neighbors live behind me about 2 acres away with a creek separating us).

My old hen came back (she was about 7) and decided that she did not like her new home and stayed. The rooster and my other 4-6 hens would come by and visit every now and then. Then the rooster started to get ornery, and was stalking me and nipping at me every chance he got.

I was given another hen to keep the old gal company and the two hens stayed in their old coop, with sometimes daily visits from my old chickens (so much for giving them away).

Last week, a friend was needing to downsize and offered me some of her hens and an 9 month old rooster, a large boy with big hooks on his legs. I figured that he would be able to bully the old rooster back to where he belonged and I would have peace at my place.

I kept the new chickens in the coop for about a week and then yesterday I decided to let them out. They slowly wandered out and were pecking and scratching at everything when the old rooster came out of now where and a horrible fight ensued. The new rooster ran into the woods, bloodied and hurt and the old rooster attempted to take his hens. I was able to corner the old rooster and he is now in my chicken cage in my shed (yes, I am holding him hostage the little *******).

I am hoping that if I give the new rooster some time to settle in and set up his territory he will be bolder when I let the old rooster out (I will be driving him back to his new home in a few days).

Is there anything else I can do? I hate to see them fight but I am so sick of the old rooster attacking me. I want peace and quiet down at my hen house.

I am also afraid that if the new rooster doesn't win, the new hens will return to my neighbors with the old mean rooster.

 

[seminolewind]

Hmmm, no matter what, the roos are going to fight now that they did already. It's hard keeping one's own chickens separate from the neighbor's. A tall fence would help.

 

[centrarchid]

Problem you have is new birds were introduced onto another’s (neighboring flock’s) territory. Your neighbor’s birds are actually the resident birds on your property, not your new flock. You may be able to rectify by having neighbor confine their flock for a week or so. The confinement will disrupt their (neighbors flock) concept of territorial boundaries and upon release will take a couple days to expand back into full territory held prior to confinement. Neighbors’ flock may also tighten their ranging habits or even shift into a different direction by placement of feeding stations or scattered eats in direction that takes them away from your property. Your new flock, especially the rooster also did not likely consider your property as his yet as that usually takes a few days. Once the new birds begin to adopt your area as their territory you will see a subtle change in their behavior that is evident when engaging birds not part of their flock. Even hens will participate in defending territory although efforts will not be directed at a harem master (your neighbors rooster) therefore your harem master will have to step up to that duty. Once both harem masters have territories they will engage in displays that somehow prevent conflicts from coming to blows. The conflicts will play themselves out at mutually recognized territory boundaries / areas that neither lays claim to. You can also promote your flock in moving away from direction of neighbors flock by placement of feeding station / eats. Territory boundaries also setup better if a fence or some sort of change on vegetation is in same location as it provides a point of reference. For me territories are stable from about now through start of heavy molt next fall when flocks tend to reorganize. During the re-organizing period my games go into battle royal mode.

 

[Guinea and Chicken raiser]

"... they kept wandering back over to my property (Neighbors live behind me about 2 acres away with a creek separating us). "
well, that's just fine...

"My old hen came back (she was about 7) and decided that she did not like her new home and stayed." Of course.

"Then the rooster started to get ornery, and was stalking me and nipping at me every chance he got." my rooster does the same thing, and he choose to go to the neighbors of ours like the three hens before him, I raised them in my yard, but they have a big circle area they free-range in. My rooster does that to us. The neighbor never complained about it, but the neighbor isn't outside enough when he's around, I guess. Both me and my fiance, my rooster tries to attack.

"I figured that he would be able to bully the old rooster back to where he belonged and I would have peace at my place." Amen.

"when the old rooster came out of [nowhere] and a horrible fight ensued." wow... hopefully you didn't loose any birds (except the rooster that was attacking the rest)
"The new rooster ran into the woods, bloodied and hurt..." oh.
"... and the old rooster attempted to take his hens." of course. that's what roosters do, but it should not have been a fight.
"I was able to corner the old rooster and he is now in my chicken cage in my shed (yes, I am holding him hostage the little *******)." Kill him... or starve him to death in there, what if the other birds need it?

"I am hoping that if I give the new rooster some time to settle in and set up his territory he will be bolder when I let the old rooster out (I will be driving him back to his new home in a few days)." I am sure it won't work.