Rooster kicked out of the flock!

[Anidanoodle]

I need guidance, I have 2 roosters in my flock of 17. I knew this day would come when one would have to go away. Well that day was yesterday, the dominant rooster (Bumble) chased (Hawks) roo #2 away until he literally when through the fence to our neighbors yard. Currently all hens follow Bumble but he is very aggressive with the hens (biting on the neck and pulling feathers!)

My question is, if we kept Hawks instead of Bumble.. will the hens respect him even after seeing him chased out of the flock?

Bumble - Black laced Wyandotte
Hawks - Ameraucana
Both are a little over 3mo and crowing

 

[fluffycrow]

I usually trust my hens with making the decision for me. Emphasis on hens. Not pullets. How old are your females?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I need guidance, I have 2 roosters in my flock of 17. I knew this day would come when one would have to go away. Well that day was yesterday, the dominant rooster (Bumble) chased (Hawks) roo #2 away until he literally when through the fence to our neighbors yard. Currently all hens follow Bumble but he is very aggressive with the hens (biting on the neck and pulling feathers!)

My question is, if we kept Hawks instead of Bumble.. will the hens respect him even after seeing him chased out of the flock?

Bumble - Black laced Wyandotte
Hawks - Ameraucana
Both are a little over 3mo and crowing

At 3 months you don't have roosters and hens. You have immature cockerels entering puberty and immature pullets at what I consider pre-puberty. The girls could be close but when they enter puberty isn't as clear as with the boys. They can all mature at different rates.

Cockerels in puberty are controlled by hormones. Those hormones are telling them to dominate, to become the flock master. They try to do this by fighting the other cockerels and mating the pullets. At this age the mating act is about dominance, the one on the bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top willingly or by force, often temporarily. Usually by force with immature cockerels and pullets. The pullets don't want to be dominated. The biting on the neck is what I call the head grab. The rooster grabbing the back of the hen's neck or head is her instinctive signal to raise her tail up out of the way so he can hit the target. There would be no fertile eggs without the head grab. The feather pulling is probably him trying to force her to mate. This is not about fertilizing eggs, there are no eggs at this stage. It is about dominance.

It can be hard to watch chickens go through puberty. It can be violent. Sometimes they can go through puberty and it isn't that bad but each time it is different. Normally watching immature chickens go through puberty is not for the faint of heart. This is when a lot of cockerels literally lose their heads and become a meal. When they mature most cockerels gain control of the hormones and become good flock leaders. The girls mature and learn their place in a flock, the girls have a part to play too. But some never grow up, especially some boys. If they don't develop into the type of rooster that the hens want to be the father of their children the girls can reject him. That does not make for a peaceful flock.

if we kept Hawks instead of Bumble.. will the hens respect him even after seeing him chased out of the flock?

These childhood fights will not matter. If he develops into the kind of rooster they will respect he'll do fine. If you keep the other he will probably develop into a good flock master but some boys never grow up. At this age you don't know how either of them will do. That's what makes choosing which to keep is so challenging.

 

[Anidanoodle]

I usually trust my hens with making the decision for me. Emphasis on hens. Not pullets. How old are your females?

3mo almost 4

 

[fluffycrow]

3mo almost 4

Yeah ok, then they're not hens but pullets. In this case I'd do the deciding for now. If you want one gone quickly, I'd say pick the one you like. If you're OK with waiting it out, I'd wait a little more to see how each develops. They're still pretty young

 

[3KillerBs]

They're barely teenagers right now.

Choose the male you prefer for whatever reasons seem best to you, get rid of the other in whatever way seems best to you, and move forward.

 

[McChooky]

I want to separate my cockerels from my pullets too but I want to add mine to my flock of 11 mature hens (with no rooster) until the pullets reach laying age. I can add the pullets to the flock last. I have a chicken tractor I can use as a last resort.

 

[Galaxy_rules]

I need guidance, I have 2 roosters in my flock of 17. I knew this day would come when one would have to go away. Well that day was yesterday, the dominant rooster (Bumble) chased (Hawks) roo #2 away until he literally when through the fence to our neighbors yard. Currently all hens follow Bumble but he is very aggressive with the hens (biting on the neck and pulling feathers!)

My question is, if we kept Hawks instead of Bumble.. will the hens respect him even after seeing him chased out of the flock?

Bumble - Black laced Wyandotte
Hawks - Ameraucana
Both are a little over 3mo and crowing

I would probably get rid of Bumble, the hens will respect his as their leader not there terrorizer.