Roosters Fighting

[KRAZYCHKNLADY]

I have 10 hens and 1 rooster that are a couple years old. This spring I hatched my own eggs, and now have added 13 hens and 5 roosters that are about 22 weeks old. They are all in the same coop, but in the last couple weeks I have noticed that the roosters are fighting. I don't think the older rooster is involved. I have one young rooster that can not walk, I'm guessing a leg injury from an attack. also, a couple of the young roosters have had bloody combs and blood splattered down their sides and back. I would like to butcher my extra young roosters, but I don't think they are large enough yet. Leave them in the coop to fight it out and learn to get along? Put all the young roosters in a separate pen to fatten then up? Suggestions?

 

[chooks4life]

Whether you separate the boys into another pen or leave them with the girls, they will continue to fight. They're clearly fixated on one another. I've never seen caging them separately make them less aggro.

Your lads sound unusually vicious. Breeding on those traits will only get you more of the same, and the hens of their family line over time can come to be just like that too, making a bloody mess of one another for no good reason. I'd just move the cull date up, myself... Whether you cage them away from the hens or not, they won't fatten while they're beating one another up and stressing one another out so much.

Best wishes.

 

[centrarchid]

Place young roosters in a bachelors pen without direct site of hens. That is the method I use to control strife involving backup roosters of my American Dominiques. They will still squabble a bit but should settle down without breeding reward for being dominant.

 

[donrae]

Pull the young guys to a separate pen. They'll still squabble some, but without the ladies to impress they'll settle down as a rule.

What breeds are you dealing with? At 22 weeks, most dual purpose roosters are prime to butcher. After this, the feed conversion ratio gets off as you're feeding them more to maintain weight vs gaining weight. I'd go ahead and plan to butcher soon. They might feel light, but they're not going to be like a grocery store bird.

 

[KRAZYCHKNLADY]

Thanks for the suggestions! Sounds like I will be butchering soon.

The eggs I hatched were crosses: My rooster is a Cuckoo Marans, and my hens are White Leghorns, Barred Rocks and Easter Eggers. It has been interesting to see what characteristics the chicks produced. The young white roosters are larger bodied that the typical Leghorn. The white hens have a few black feathers here and there. Some of the black and white speckled hens have fuzzy cheeks and small combs like the Easter Eggers. I have one rooster that looks like a true Barred Rock, and one that is a mixture of all three breeds: blackish/brown and white speckled like the Barred Rock, fuzzy cheeks like the Easter Eggers, and long beautiful tail feathers like the Cuckoo Marans. I can't wait to see what color eggs my young hens lay.

Hatching my own eggs has been a learning experience. Will definitely do it again, but with a few changes next time.

 

[chooks4life]

Pull the young guys to a separate pen. They'll still squabble some, but without the ladies to impress they'll settle down as a rule.

Too bad my chooks never read the rulebooks! lol. The troublemakers I've had did not settle down, even when completely unable to see hens... Always the exception to the rule, aye?

Best wishes.

 

[KRAZYCHKNLADY]

So I butchered 6 roosters over the weekend. It was a learning experience, and I will definitely do it again if needed. It took about 5 hours from catching them to putting them in the freezer. Not to bad, for the first time. Although they don't look like the chickens you would buy at the grocery, they do have more meat on them than I expected. Looking forward to roasting one soon! My coop is much calmer now, and I'm hoping that happier hens will mean better egg production!

 

[donrae]

So I butchered 6 roosters over the weekend. It was a learning experience, and I will definitely do it again if needed. It took about 5 hours from catching them to putting them in the freezer. Not to bad, for the first time. Although they don't look like the chickens you would buy at the grocery, they do have more meat on them than I expected. Looking forward to roasting one soon! My coop is much calmer now, and I'm hoping that happier hens will mean better egg production!

congratulations on your first butchering! Your hens will so appreciate the new, calm life. 5 hours for 6 birds, first timer, sounds great to me!

 

[chooks4life]

Congrats, and I dare say it will indeed give you better egg production.

Best wishes.

 

[aart]

So I butchered 6 roosters over the weekend. It was a learning experience, and I will definitely do it again if needed. It took about 5 hours from catching them to putting them in the freezer. Not to bad, for the first time. Although they don't look like the chickens you would buy at the grocery, they do have more meat on them than I expected. Looking forward to roasting one soon! My coop is much calmer now, and I'm hoping that happier hens will mean better egg production!

Congrats!!

Rooster -N- Noodles is delicious stuff!