Rooster Question | Bonded?

[Butt_Nugget_Hut092]

Okay, this is probably going to sound weird but I have a question about roosters. I have two roosters, about 5 weeks old, one welsummer, one Easter egger, both from tractor supply, bought at the same time, raised together since I got them.

They are mean as sin to any other chicken, I just had to move the other two 5 week olds out of their brooder due to them bullying them.

But they act as though they are bonded to each other. The welsummer is the more dominant one, the egger more submissive. The egger follows the welsummer everywhere, calls out for him when he can't find him, they snuggle together. The egger panics without the welsummer.

Can roosters bond to one another? To the point that they are dependent on one another?
I know there are cases of animals being attracted to the same sex in nature, has anyone seen this happen with chickens/roosters?
Odd question, I know. But the last roosters I raised pretty much went at each other immediately. They were around 5 to 6 weeks old when they started fighting with each other. And none of them cared if one of them left.

 

[DemeterAD9]

5 week olds are still babies, they will bond with other chicks but those bonds are often broken/rearranged as they mature. At this time they are establishing a pecking order and they will be more prone to picking on the others in a brooder setting. IMO they are ready for the coop at this size and the picking on each other will lessen with the extra space.

As for them being "gay"... no I don't think so. Chicken do not sexually mature till around 20 weeks, some sooner and some later. Yes a pair of roosters that were raised together can stay buds as adults, assuming there are enough hens to keep them company. But more often than not they will fight and one with either submit and be okay as a "satellite" rooster or the dominant bird with chase off or kill the other.

I currently have a flock of 7 ~9 weeks old. 5 are roosters and they all snuggle together in the coop at night. They sit in the sun together, occasionally preen each other, eat and play etc. But they are also doing the fluffed up neck feathers thing as they square off. Their little spats only last a moment... for now. I hope the peace lasts till fall, when they should be big enough to sort through and process the extras.

 

[Butt_Nugget_Hut092]

5 week olds are still babies, they will bond with other chicks but those bonds are often broken/rearranged as they mature. At this time they are establishing a pecking order and they will be more prone to picking on the others in a brooder setting. IMO they are ready for the coop at this size and the picking on each other will lessen with the extra space.

As for them being "gay"... no I don't think so. Chicken do not sexually mature till around 20 weeks, some sooner and some later. Yes a pair of roosters that were raised together can stay buds as adults, assuming there are enough hens to keep them company. But more often than not they will fight and one with either submit and be okay as a "satellite" rooster or the dominant bird with chase off or kill the other.

I currently have a flock of 7 ~9 weeks old. 5 are roosters and they all snuggle together in the coop at night. They sit in the sun together, occasionally preen each other, eat and play etc. But they are also doing the fluffed up neck feathers thing as they square off. Their little spats only last a moment... for now. I hope the peace lasts till fall, when they should be big enough to sort through and process the extras.

I keep mine in a brooder inside until they are around 8 to 9 weeks old. For two reasons, the first being I now vaccinate for fowl pox at 8 weeks of age. I have a very high mosquito population here.
And the second reason is, I need them to be close to size with my hens before I start to integrate them in with my existing flock. My hens are savages to anything smaller then them. So integration will be slow.

It's not my first time raising chickens or roosters. But my last roosters didn't act like this. None of them cared if the others left, none of them followed the other one around, none of them called out for the others. At around 6 weeks old they started fighting and doing to rooster dance. So the clingy behavior and calling out for each other is what has me puzzled.

 

[Mrs. K]

They may be bonded now, but it will not last. Or it would be very rare if it lasted. Being raised together has almost no influence on long term chicken behavior. A lot of people think that if raised together they will be life long friends, but that is not the case with chickens.

Hens just forget their babies. Like they have never seen them before after a few weeks of brooding them. Best friends separated for a few days, will attack each other. They really do not do the BFF. Instead chicken relationships is all about the pecking order.

I too do not think they are sexually interested in each other. As soon as those hormones hit, at least one of them is going to be looking for hens.

Mrs K