rooster

[allison51207]

This is my first year with chickens and we ended up with 2 roosters my problem is the rooster he won't stop crowing all day from 5am till he goes in at 730pm,is it because there is another rooster,I have 12 birds total with the 2 roosters ,so 10 hens,and he's the biggest he NEVER EVER EVER STOPS GRRR,I have neighbors couple have a rooster but mine is the only one going all day,not only that it looks like couple of my hens have dried blood on there crowns is it normal for him to be bitting the hens on there neck and crowns, I'm just not really sure what's going on but if he's stressing or terrorizing my hens do I get rid of him,or is it because it's all new to them we got them in april.
PLEASE HELP

 

[SIMZ]

Some roosters just crow all day long! It sounds like you have one of them! The other rooster might have a little to do with it - along with your neighbor's roosters - but he is probably just very vocal.

If he was hatched in April then he's probably in that very rough, hormonal stage, and that's why you're seeing the dried blood. Keep an eye on it because the other chickens could start pecking that or he could cause some worse damage since he's drawing blood.

He might settle down a bit the older he gets, but he might not. I'm a big believer of simplicity. If he's driving you crazy and you don't particularly need him then you might want to get rid of him. Keep the one that isn't driving you crazy!

 

[Ridgerunner]

It’s not clear how old they are, just because you got them in April doesn’t mean they were hatched in April. So I’ll also use an “if” when talking about it. If they were hatched in April you don’t have roosters and hens, you have cockerels and pullets. There is usually a world of difference. Mature roosters and hens know their roles and usually make a pretty settled flock. Immature adolescents are all about hormones and lack of maturity. It can get pretty rough until they mature. If you can put up with them until they mature they may settle into a nice flock. Usually with my pullets that is when they start to lay. With my cockerels that can be anywhere from 5 to 11 months of age. Some people say some of their cockerels take longer.

I agree with SIMZ on the crowing and well everything. The other roosters may be egging him on some but he’s just vocal. Each chicken has its own personality. Some hardly ever crow, some crow a lot.

The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is just personal preference. You don’t need two roosters with ten hens for the eggs to be fertile either, one can easily do the job. My advice is to keep as few roosters as you can to still meet your goals. That’s not because you are guaranteed to have problems with more roosters, just that the more you have the more likely you are to have problems. I don’t know your goals for roosters but I suspect the correct number for you is either zero or one, not two. Chicken keeping should be enjoyable. If one, male or female, is causing me stress I get rid of them.

Since you say it’s you first year with chickens I’ll post typical mating behavior between mature consenting adults.

The rooster dances for a specific hen. He lowers one wing and sort of circles her. This signals his intent.

The hen squats. This gets her body onto the ground so the rooster’s weight goes into the ground through her entire body and not just her legs. That way she can support a much heavier rooster without hurting her legs.

The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. The head grab helps him get in the right position to hit the target and helps him to keep his balance, but its major purpose is to tell the hen to raise her tail out of the way to expose the target. A mating will not be successful if she does not raise her tail and expose the target. The head grab is necessary.

The rooster touches vents and hops off. This may be over in the blink of an eye or it may take a few seconds. But when this is over the rooster’s part is done.

The hen then stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container inside the hen near where the egg starts its internal journey through her internal egg making factory.

This is between mature roosters and hens. If you have immature cockerels and pullets it’s almost certain it will not going to go this smoothly. The cockerel’s hormones are driving him crazy. It’s not just about sex, at that age the mating act is more about dominance. His hormones are telling him to be the dominant chicken in the flock. By mating the pullets, either willingly or by force, he is establishing his dominance. Since the pullets typically mature later than cockerels they don’t know what is going on so they resist. That means it is usually by force. When it is by force the pullets can possibly be hurt. Usually they are not but they can be. To make it worse the cockerel often does not have good technique. He may grab the comb instead of the feathers on the back of the head or he may pull those feathers out. That makes it easier for the pullet to be injured, either the comb or the bare skin on the back of her neck.

Most of the time the pullets and the cockerels get through this phase with no serious injuries though injuries certainly are possible. Sometimes this phase isn’t nearly as bad as I’ve described it but often it is not something for the faint of heart to watch. Having a second cockerel or rooster in there can stir up the competitive juices too and make it even worse.

I don’t know your goals or why you want roosters, but my suggestion is to get rid of the one that is causing you stress regardless of their age.