Roosters~

[gljrusinko]

As a newbie with chickens, we have acquired three different breeds - 6 Rhode Island Reds (hens), 9 Buckeyes (?2 roosters), and Mottled Cochins (1 rooster, 2 hens). The Buckeyes and Cochins are about 14 weeks old now and I have noticed the two roosters squaring off with body language - staring each other down, getting in each others faces, fluffing up and then jumping. I am worried that they will fight. My husband doesn't think so. Since we are new to this, I want to know what to expect. If I need to separate them, I will. Any advice is appreciated

 

[auburn]

You're sure at least three of them are roosters? Keep in mind hens will fight in a similar way around this age, to establish the pecking order. But as for three roosters...the most I've ever kept to a flock was two. There was a time, after a brood hatched, that we had seven roosters around. Seven! :'D The five brothers rarely fought with each other though, and mostly had conflicts with the other two. Conflicts they usually lost.

The two we have do occasionally scuffle, but not very often. The more submissive rooster does his best to keep away from the alpha rooster to avoid any whippings. However, the way our pens are set up, the lower ranking rooster can easily fly out of the coop he shares with the alpha rooster and go into another, while the alpha rooster is a poor flier and can't get out. When we lock them both up to let the hens out, we lock them into different pens.

Not sure how three will work, partly depends on their temperament. If you get three really aggressive roosters, then fights will, unfortunately, be likely unavoidable.

 

[BantamLover21]

As a newbie with chickens, we have acquired three different breeds - 6 Rhode Island Reds (hens), 9 Buckeyes (?2 roosters), and Mottled Cochins (1 rooster, 2 hens). The Buckeyes and Cochins are about 14 weeks old now and I have noticed the two roosters squaring off with body language - staring each other down, getting in each others faces, fluffing up and then jumping. I am worried that they will fight. My husband doesn't think so. Since we are new to this, I want to know what to expect. If I need to separate them, I will. Any advice is appreciated

Roosters, and hens, will almost always have a few scuffles. They'll test each others' dominance throughout their life, just like most other animals. As long as one rooster backs down, (which they usually do), fights don't amount to much more than another bird chasing the submissive bird. Currently, I have 5 roosters (yes, several will be sold soon!), four young, and one old, living together. Ever so often, there are stare-offs, but each rooster quickly learns its place, and tries its best not to upset the dominant rooster.

There are instances when some roosters just don't get along. In cases like that, one of the roosters must be isolated, as roosters do sometimes fight to the death. However, I have never had roosters like that, and I expect that your roosters will get along after they work out the pecking order. At your birds' age, their hormones are ramping up, and each bird is vying for dominance. As they get older, though, roosters tend to "grow up", and they mellow out a bit, resulting in fewer fights.

Also, as auburn suggested, are you sure that you have three roosters? Hens can act almost exactly like roosters when they fight. In fact, I've found that fights between two hens are more severe than between two roosters, as a hen is generally less likely to back down than is a rooster.