Stupid Rooster

[7L Farm]

I have three coops & they all range. One coop has 10 old hens another coop has two roos & 14 hens & my third coop has one roo & 16 hens. They pretty much hang in separate areas. Except the original roo who's the king loves the lady's & rules the roost.
Well, old stupid decides he wants to show the king who's boss. He goes out of his boundaries & wants to start a fight with the king. Bad idea to say the least. The king whooped his butt. I mean bad. I find stupid in his coop laying on the ground beat up. I thought well hope you learned your lesson. Nope, he goes back for more I got in the middle of it & broke up the soon to be death of him from the king.
I finally persuaded the king into a coop to end the fighting between them. Then noticed the other roo running him off as well. I decided thats enough & put him down. I tell you it was a crazy day here. You talk about chicken drama & pecking order I saw it first hand.
I guess I did what I had to do. The boy was getting to big for his britches.

 

[sumi]

What you described is perfectly normal, natural behaviour. You'll see it with other species as well. The leading male has to be replaced by a younger one now and then to ensure survival of the species. Males get older and can't go on fathering offspring forever. New males will challenge the older male for position of leader of the flock and in nature the older males will eventually get pushed out, or killed and replaced. Lions for example, takes this even further. When a new male takes over the pride he'll kill any male cubs that was not fathered by him.

 

[7L Farm]

What you described is perfectly normal, natural behaviour. You'll see it with other species as well. The leading male has to be replaced by a younger one now and then to ensure survival of the species. Males get older and can't go on fathering offspring forever. New males will challenge the older male for position of leader of the flock and in nature the older males will eventually get pushed out, or killed and replaced. Lions for example, takes this even further. When a new male takes over the pride he'll kill any male cubs that was not fathered by him.

I'm not disagreeing this. But dad whipped his tail good & I was getting tired of them fighting each other. I guess I did the right thing ? Well its a done deal now. I'm now wondering if I should alternate days for ranging are will everything be good now that he's gone ? I'm not into cock fights. I would think 40 hens & two roos would work but I also thought that three would work. I think the older roo will win again if they start fighting. The king roo loves all the girls & must be super jealous of any other roo.
I don't have a problem with either roo thus far I just don't want the drama or blood shed.
What should I do let them all out & let them fight to the death are what ?

 

[sumi]

If your top roo wants to kick the heck out of any competition it is better to keep any other roosters away from him then, especially if you don't like the fighting.
I had up to 7 roosters at a time in my flock of around 100 chickens. I had a top roo and a number 2 (his son) that we used for breeding and they did fight one day, a big fight with blood everywhere, top roo won and that was it. For weeks it was peaceful on the farm. Then one day #2 tried again and they didn't get it sorted, They kept fighting. Top roo ended up losing a spur, I got fed-up and rehomed #2. The younger roosters knew their place, didn't make trouble and we kept them until they were old enough to sell.
Roosters are great to have around, but they can be stubborn and difficult. If you have a nice roo that knows his place, looks after the ladies and respects you, hang on to him. If you have a trouble maker that won't learn, rehome him or send him to freezer camp.

 

[Kiniska]

I had a bantam once that was a complete sweet heart. He was with a flock of LF girls. He would come up on the porch and snuggle into your lap. The girls loved him, a regular Cassanova that one. Lost him one night to a fox, long story... Anyway I replaced him with a Leghorn rooster a friend swore was a sweet heart. That was the meanest bird. He even tried to fight with the hens, he went to freezer retirement. So you never know how they are going to act. I would agree though, keep hold of the good ones.

 

[7L Farm]

I kept the father. He didn't start the fight his son did . Then the other son didn't want him around either so I got rid of the one that started it all. He was just trying to be the king & the main roo let him have it. Guess, I'll alternate range days so there will be no more blood shed. I mean dad has some big ol spurs so I figured he's the one I need to protect the girls. He's good with the ladies & I know he can get the job done.

 

[DaphneNL]

They can be the sweetest to you and their hens, but if roosters start fighting each other they don't care about the consequences. In most cases, they will fight until one of them dies. Very stubborn creatures, roosters. They can get along for years and one day out of the blue decide they hate each other.