Roosters Bullying Hens!!

[Farmlife16]

I have two 5 month old roosters in my flock along with 2 year old hens, 5 month old hens, and 8 week old chicks. The two 5 month old roosters and their 5 month old flock mates were added as chicks to my existing flock. The two roosters have started bullying two of my 2 year old hens, one of which was pecked badly on her neck. They will chase these two hens around and then mate them aggressively once they have submitted to them. At first I thought that these specific hens weren't willing to live under the roosters dominance, since they were the top hens my flock. Now that I've seen the two hens submitting to both roosters, I'm thinking that the roosters might be competing for "ownership" of the two hens. The funny is thing is that my other 2 year old hen isn't being bothered at all. Both roosters also seem to behaving like gentleman to their 5 month old flock mates as well (calling them over food and doing the wing dance), except for some occasional rough mating.

Any thoughts as to why they are picking on these two hens? Any advice on how to deal with the problem? Thanks!

 

[sourland]

They are cockerels - think sex driven teenagers. I would remove both from the flock until they and the pullets mature. Then I would add the cockerel you like best back to the flock. The other would have to find a new home or be utilized. 2 males gang breeding that few hens is not a good idea.

 

[Farmlife16]

They are cockerels - think sex driven teenagers. I would remove both from the flock until they and the pullets mature. Then I would add the cockerel you like best back to the flock. The other would have to find a new home or be utilized. 2 males gang breeding that few hens is not a good idea.

Thanks for the advice! I am planning to send one to freezer camp Any ideas on why roosters would single out a particular hen, besides them being at that "crazy" age?

I know that they can be unpredictable, but I need a rooster that can coexist relatively peacefully with chickens of various ages because of my flock setup... I don't have an easy way to remove him and then reintroduce. It's either keep him in the flock or off to freezer camp!

 

[Farmlife16]

Any advice? @Mrs. K @LaFleche @aart @Ridgerunner @3KillerBs

 

[LaFleche]

Any advice? @Mrs. K @LaFleche @aart @Ridgerunner @3KillerBs

@sourland has given good advice, but I would keep the cockerel the females like best as they are the ones who have to live and put up with him.

Gang raping leads to stress which leads to low egg production and often sickness and injuries.

 

[LaFleche]

Any ideas on why roosters would single out a particular hen, besides them being at that "crazy" age?

Single out to do what? Or to ignore?

 

[PoppasGrill]

We’ve had to put a few hens in isolation due to roosters singling them out, down to bare skin on the hen’s back. As soon as we released them, after 2 weeks, the roosters started right back in on them.
Don’t know why they do this as we have 4-5 hens per rooster, though I have seen several roosters chasing a hen that was successful in escaping the attack. They will run through the flock to get to a certain hen

 

[LaFleche]

We’ve had to put a few hens in isolation due to roosters singling them out, down to bare skin on the hen’s back. As soon as we released them, after 2 weeks, the roosters started right back in on them.
Don’t know why they do this as we have 4-5 hens per rooster, though I have seen several roosters chasing a hen that was successful in escaping the attack. They will run through the flock to get to a certain hen

Roosters usually prefer the most prolific and docile layers.

 

[aart]

I don't have an easy way to remove him and then reintroduce.

You should always have a place(or 2 or 3) to isolate any bird that needs it.
Could be due to aggression, or broody, or ill.

 

[Farmlife16]

Single out to do what? Or to ignore?

Sorry, I meant "to bully"