Tale of 2 Roosters, which one

[Stang65fst]

I have two roosters, down from four that I had. All of them are Golden Wyandottes. I have two beautiful ones left, one is bigger than the other but is always pecking and "dancing" around my 6 hens. He also chases off the other rooster often and he is noisy. Rooster #2 has pecked a few hens but not with the frequency of #1. #2 seems to take to himself as he is not allowed to be close to the flock cause #1 chases him. #2 typically sits watch at the corner in the flower bed so he can see everything going on. He even took down a 7" snake the other day.

Neither rooster has ever been aggressive towards us or the dogs.Both roosters are right at 6 months of age. We live in the country back in the woods so noise isn't an issue.

If someone could impart some knowledge I would appreciate it.

 

[Baymule]

I will admit I don't have rooster experience as we live right in the middle of town and in deference to neighbors we have hens only. What about penning one rooster and let the other one roam with the hens for a few days and observe their behavior. Then switch roosters and observe the other one. That way you can make a better decision based on how each rooster interacts with the flock when not in competition with each other.

 

[Mrs. K]

Your flock has already decided. Keep the dominant roo

 

[bobbi-j]

Your flock has already decided. Keep the dominant roo

X2

 

[TXchickmum]

-agree with the above two. The flock has decided. -question is what size of flock do you have - large flock or small backyard flock? Were the roos raised together from birth? We have two roos (chose to keep both). They were raised together from the time they were chicks.They established pecking order fairly quickly. Both seem to get along just fine, and often forage around side by side. Both squeal simultaneously if anything flies overhead (both are excellent to alert the flock). If anything changes, and we develop an issue, the dominant roo will stay.

 

[Stang65fst]

They were raised up from chicks together. #1 does like to chase #2 around and when I open up the run #1 makes sure he gets #2 out first. #1 makes sure that #2 stays away from the hens. They do make a racket when something they don't like is around.

Right now the size is 8 total chickens. I will be adding more in about 3-6 months. looking for a total 15 hens, the coop will hold 24.

I do appreciate the info and take the advice to heart.

 

[TXchickmum]

-sounds very similar to our flock. We have 7 (total) and just got three more pullets. (2 bantam roos, 2 bantam pullets, 6 standard pullets) We are close to capacity for our lot size, IMO. -going to hang onto both until it becomes apparent that we need to re-home. The kids understand that we cannot have roosters fighting. That isn't a good thing and eventually one of their beloved pets will be injured or worse. Also, they understand that the hens cannot be bothered continually without respite. That isn't good for the hens.

-best of luck with your flock! -sounds like yours have more or less sorted things out and are existing together at this point. -hope all works out well!

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

I just faced a similar issue in my flock. We had 2 roos (a father, Max and his son, Perseus) and 9 hens.
Perseus was raised here in our farmyard by his Mum, and all was well for about 8 months.
In the year prior, I have been thru all the dominance issues with Max, including his desire to challenge me. We worked thru it, and things calmed down.
Then, when Perseus turned 9 months old, he began chasing Max around, and within a month, had begun brutalizing him. Eventually, I had to separate them, and I agonized over which roo to keep. Darwin would suggest keeping the winner, but I had already worked thru all the issues of "maleness" with Max.
I don't have enough room for a bachelor pad, but I did keep Perseus in a very large dog crate at night, and in the penned off run in the daytime. I left Max with the ladies, as he was my choice for flock Father.
I put Pers on Craig's list and on byc's classifieds, but alas, no one was interested.
Last week I ended up processing him, myself. (My husband also doesn't have the stomach to participate in butchering, tho is very happy in the eating!)
The flock is happy and calm again, and the effect on Max has been profound. Not only is he calmer, but he eats from my hand and allows me to pet him, now. I think he knows I saved him from his savage son, and from the stew pot.

The thing that made it so difficult for me was Perseus was one of only 2 chicks ever raised by my original broody hen, and I felt so much more attached than I did when processing hatchery straight-run roos. My broody was lost to a predator when the chicks were 5 weeks old. That was last November, and I had sort of lost hope that I would ever have another broody.
4 days after I processed Perseus, one of my older hens went full-scale broody, and is now setting a clutch.
I know there will be roos in this hatch and my experience has taught me not to allow the new roos to get old enough to want to challenge for authority.

I am so glad you were able to give your excess roos away, since you weren't so keen to process them.

 

[Stang65fst]

#2 went to a friend of mine in McClellanville, SC. They bought a piece of property and are beginning putting together a coop and flock.

 

[PigeonLady]

I have an older rooster (about 6 or 7 I think) and several younger ones, and not being a "farmer," it's hard to think about getting rid of the older one in favor of a younger one. But I do like to raise baby chicks now and then, and I'm almost certain my older roo is no longer fertile. Also, the young ones represent an upgrade in quality for my flock. Wish I knew somebody who could "process" him for me, LOL.