Roosters swapping coops?

[Sinadrea]

Hello,
I have 2 of my rehomed Rooster's sons and I have a larger new coop, where most of the younger hens sleep, and an old small coop where the older hens sleep. The older rooster chases the other around in the daytime if he gets in his bubble or if he tries to mate with a favorite. The younger rooster will usually isolate himself for a while (hang out with ducks or goats) and then go in the larger coop when the other guy isn't around.
The older rooster usually sleeps in the larger coop with the younger girls at night and the younger rooster usually stays in the older coop with the old ladies.
This week has been very cold and they have decided to swap their sleeping quarters. I don't know if its because the older coop is less drafty in the crazy Midwest winters or if they are just swapping girls around?
I was just trying to see what thoughts anyone would have about this.
Thank you!
* I also have 16 hens between the 2

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My guess is the older rooster is trying to claim the other hens for himself, and the younger one is just avoiding him. We are already under increasing daylight, so hormones are starting to surge in preparation for breeding season which is just around the corner.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Simple competition. Rehome or eat one, or put up with OK corral happening. Not always a numbers thing. Some roos will, claim all in the near space and fight for them. This is a big reason why they crow. It is to let other roos know to stay away so they don't end up hacking each other to bits over the ladies.

 

[Perris]

they have decided to swap their sleeping quarters.

I have 4 coops and 11 roos; it happens a lot here. In this photo of the flock sheltering from a storm in one of their favourite hangouts, you can see 3 of the coops and the ramp of the 4th on the right. You can also see at least 9 of the roos and at least as many hens; a lot of what's said about having multiple roos in a flock is simply false in my experience, which revolves around raising roos within the flock so they all think they are related (even if genetically they are not, because I acquired some of them as hatching eggs). Apart from them all standing close together, calmly and peacefully, you may want to note the absence of injuries to hens or roos.

I don't know if its because

I don't know why either. I don't spend any time worrying about it. They choose their roosting partners and they know much better than I do why they want to roost where they do. Who am I to interfere?

if they are just swapping girls around?

In an open environment where they can make their own decisions, hens choose which roos' sperm to keep (so even if forced to mate with them, they may reject them as sires as of their offspring). And all of them are promiscuous; hens mate with multiple roos just as roos mate with whatever hens they can.

I was just trying to see what thoughts anyone would have about this.
Thank you!

You're welcome.

 

[Sinadrea]

My guess is the older rooster is trying to claim the other hens for himself, and the younger one is just avoiding him. We are already under increasing daylight, so hormones are starting to surge in preparation for breeding season which is just around the corner.

Maybe he is like his dad and wants all of the hens. I'm hoping breeding season isn't too messy

 

[Sinadrea]

Simple competition. Rehome or eat one, or put up with OK corral happening. Not always a numbers thing. Some roos will, claim all in the near space and fight for them. This is a big reason why they crow. It is to let other roos know to stay away so they don't end up hacking each other to bits over the ladies.

Maybe the older one has a larger territory than I thought. For now, I'm putting up with it because I am attached to both, but we'll see how it gets as the submissive one fully matures.

 

[Sinadrea]

I have 4 coops and 11 roos; it happens a lot here. In this photo of the flock sheltering from a storm in one of their favourite hangouts, you can see 3 of the coops and the ramp of the 4th on the right. You can also see at least 9 of the roos and at least as many hens; a lot of what's said about having multiple roos in a flock is simply false in my experience, which revolves around raising roos within the flock so they all think they are related (even if genetically they are not, because I acquired some of them as hatching eggs). Apart from them all standing close together, calmly and peacefully, you may want to note the absence of injuries to hens or roos. View attachment 4287993

I don't know why either. I don't spend any time worrying about it. They choose their roosting partners and they know much better than I do why they want to roost where they do. Who am I to interfere?

In an open environment where they can make their own decisions, hens choose which roos' sperm to keep (so even if forced to mate with them, they may reject them as sires as of their offspring). And all of them are promiscuous; hens mate with multiple roos just as roos mate with whatever hens they can.

You're welcome.

Very informative.

How did you get all the roosters to think they're related? My 2 are half brothers and they were raised by the same mom. They haven't killed eachother yet, but the older one will chase the younger off all the time in the daytime.

It is also interesting that hens can choose the dad's sperm. I am curious out of my 2 which one they'd pick. The dominant is a Polish EE mix and submissive is a Bielefelder EE mix.

 

[JedJackson]

Are these birds all free range? If so, the hens would all move to the less drafty coop if that was the cause of the switch, not just the dominant rooster.

As far as the roosters go, the dominant is attacking the subordinate. That's normal. So long as the younger one can escape and the older one doesn't go too far, then it should be okay.

Problems will arise if the younger one starts standing his ground. Then there will be longer fights that can result in serious injury or death.

You can only watch and see how things are going at this point. If things escalate you will have to intervene and either keep separate flocks or re-home one of them.