Time's up? Cook the cockerels?

[NHMountainMan]

I have 7 pullets in 1 coop, and 4 cockerels in a separate coop, about 200 ft apart. I have let them mingle during the day, and until last night, they went home to roost in the correct coop. It was really cold the past few nights, and last night wind was blowing steady in the 30's with gusts in the 50mph - so wind chills about -20.

I went to tuck them in and the cockerel coop was empty. The cockerels had moved in with the pullets (scandalous - I know!). I assume that the cold drove them to roost together. The coop is large enough for all 11.

Today, I noticed nasty teenage behavior. The 2 bresse cockerels are very large at 26 weeks. They were relentlessly chasing my 30 wk old Easter egger, trying to corner and mount, while biting her neck feathers. She is not yet laying, if that matters. They were ignoring the bresse pullet they were initially brooded with, before I knew they were cockerels. It was all targeted on the easter egger (she found an obstacle to hide behind.) The other pullets seems to stay with the other cockerels - and the bresse bullies stayed away. The area they roam is about 200 by 200 surrounded by electric netting.

So I have options - I can fully separate all cockerels, or just the bresse by dividing the roaming area in half - it would be look no touch. I can process and cook 1 to see if the dynamic changes. Or process both bresse. (though I am hoping to mate the Bresse to see if I can get a self sustaining flock.)

Advice? What would you do?

 

[ValerieJ]

That is always the question with cockerels. All of your options are reasonable ones. In the past, I have culled all roosters, and now I want to keep the 2 cockerels I have. What I have learned from the BYC folks is that the bad behavior goes away after they get through the hormonal stage, maybe about a year old. So, here's my personal plan. Try to integrate. If it doesn't work, then keep them in a bachelor pad. My run is already split up with coops and doors, so I have freedom in whatever arrangement I need. When all is well, they all have access to all of it. I'm just going to take it a day at a time.

Right now, with your two hormonal cockerels going after the one pullet, I would separate them, but not cull, until they have had a chance to grow out of this stage.

Hope that helps. I'm not experienced enough to give any real advice, just share how I'm doing it.

 

[Henry&Friends]

I let my chickens work out what they need to work out—within reason, of course. If two roosters are bullying one hen, then those two roosters need time out time. I would put a fence around one coop and section off a part of run for them with fence. Let them see the hens, but not touch. Then I’d let them out every few days. If they keep being rude and unreasonable, keep them separated. Eventually they will mellow out, or you’ll have to find a long term solution. If the other 2 cockerels are being nice to the ladies, I’d let them stay with the hens.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Today, I noticed nasty teenage behavior. The 2 bresse cockerels are very large at 26 weeks.

I voted separate all boys from girls as the others may do the same things once their hormones kick in and integrating boys with boys later is rough. They always target the weakest pullet and will hold her down to take turns. Boys are more respectful raised separately past teenage hormones, in my experience. Girls are also able to be more friendly towards me. Kept with a rooster... they tend to listen to him and be more aloof to me if they weren't bonded to or socialized closely and friendlied up by me FIRST. My stag pen and hen pen have even been successful side by side with a common fence or completely apart.

But, if you aren't planning to breed your cockerels... it's a great time to process them! And that is what I would do.

If you are wanting to breed them (rereading your post AGAIN I see that is the case)... this behavior cannot be considered their norm and they will benefit from a time out. Process anyone who is NOT in consideration for breeding. Feed your family instead of extra mouths. Even Silkies are edible!

 

[Meg-in-MT]

It really depends on what your ultimate goal is. Do you plan on separating both bresse into their own breeding pens in the spring? If so, I'd just separate the run now. If you're trying to decide which one to use for the breeding program and want them to grow out longer, I'd do the same. What are your plans for the other two that are hanging with the pullets?

If you want to see what cockerel is going to be a better fit, you may want to keep one with the girls and lock the other three out. Rotating them out if one is especially aggressive or causing damage. Seven pullets and four cockerels all together at this age really could cause some problems for you. It's only a matter of time before the two "non-issue" boys start coming out of there shells, as well.

 

[NHMountainMan]

I have 4 cockerels. The 2 Bresse, plus a Liege fighter and Flarry eyed Grey. The latter 2 will get their own flocks next year when I split my pullets into what I hope will be hardy egg flocks, adding additional Orloffs, plus Icelandic and a few Swedish breeds. The game cocks are supposed to be great flock leaders and protectors - so we'll see. The Bresse were originally planned simply to end up in the freezer. I am planning meat birds next spring, and as the bresse grew out - I over-complicated my plan by saying, lets do 3 meat bird experiments - rangers, CornishX and now - Bresse (after I saw 2 of the 3 were cockerel - I'd only ordered 1 - the breeder threw a few in because of a need to substitute from my original order) - my goal is a self sustaining meat bird flock, and I like experiments!)

I do really like the idea of rotating them to see how things develop. I do know that as the game cocks grow - they will need to be in a bachelor pad, simply so they don't kill each other. The breeder says no problems provided no females in sight - kind of how there's a lot less fighting at all boy's schools!

I really appreciate the advice. I'm enjoying watching the dynamics, and I'm home most of the time, so I can supervise carefully.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I do really like the idea of rotating them to see how things develop.

That's exactly how I keep my maximum number of pure bred flocks with minimal pens... add the rooster of choice from the stag pen to the hens before dawn and return to stag pen before dawn the next day... keeps pecking order in tact. And only collect egg for hatching from the color layer hen I want pure breeds from while others are collected for eating.

My stags don't fight in the stag pen because they see the ladies. They only fight through the fence if a stag is on the same side as the ladies. In fact I have a stag pen now completely away from the ladies and they fight just as much out of sight as in sight. It's not usually severe.

It does sound like you might be a little over excited and have an excess amount of projects planned...
leading to eventual exhaustion and narrowing down of what breeds YOU truly love keeping. They are often not as good in person as they are on paper.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't know if you've seen this or how much of this you know already. It might help explain some of what yo are seeing.

Typical mating behavior between mature consenting adults.

The rooster dances for a specific hen. He lowers one wing and sort of circles her. This signals his intent.

The hen squats. This gets her body onto the ground so the rooster’s weight goes into the ground through her entire body and not just her legs. That way she can support a much heavier rooster without hurting her joints.

The rooster hops on and grabs the back of her head. The head grab helps him get in the right position to hit the target and helps him to keep his balance, but its major purpose is to tell the hen to raise her tail out of the way to expose the target. A mating will not be successful if she does not raise her tail and expose the target. The head grab is necessary.

The rooster touches vents and hops off. This may be over in the blink of an eye or it may take a few seconds. But when this is over the rooster’s part is done.

The hen then stands up, fluffs up, and shakes. This fluffy shake gets the sperm into a special container inside the hen near where the egg starts its internal journey through her internal egg making factory.

You do not have mature consenting adults, you have unruly immature adolescents. At that age mating behavior is not about sex, it is about dominance. The one on bottom is accepting the dominance of the one on top, either by choice or by force. In your case it is by force because that pullet is not consenting. If they are only going after her it is possible she is the dominant pullet, not the weakest and is their biggest threat. Or she may be the weakest, I don't know. Still they are after her.

Typically my pullets start to act like adults about the time they start to lay. It is not purely tied to age. There is no set age for boys to grow out of this hormone-driven stage either. I've had a very few manage that at 5 months, I've had some not manage until about a full year old. Typical is closer to seven months but not all are typical.

Once the males and females both reach their levels of maturity they generally know how to behave, but you probably know some 50 year old men and women that never left adolescence. Same thing can happen to some chickens. But once they mature they usually become a pretty laid back flock. Usually.

Sometimes having competition can stir a cockerel into more aggressive behavior. Eating one might be a reasonable strategy. It might not help but he'd be delicious. Which one? Get personal and feel them up, see which has the best meat. That's your breeder. Sometimes the feathers mask which one has the best meat, that's why feeling is best. But removing one might not help at all.

What do I do when I'm in something close to your situation. My conditions are a little different, I generally have one mature rooster, 6 to 8 mature hens, and maybe 15 to 20 pullets and 15 to 20 cockerels, not all the same age. I generally just let it go. No one is really getting injured. Usually my pullets hang with the boys, just run away when the boys get amorous. Often the boys will chase them down, grab their head to control them, and mate with them. Sometimes the girls get away but not that often. Occasionally some pullets hang in the coop, often on the roosts, to stay away from the boys. I have food and water inside and out so they don't starve or get thirsty. Your weather is a bit cold right now though so water may be a challenge.

I hardly ever see any gang rape or anything like that. It's rowdy, it's rough, but no one is getting hurt. About once every three or four years though it gets too rowdy even for me. So I lock a dozen or so of the older boys in their own separate grow-out coop away from the flock until butcher age.

This behavior generally starts with mine when the boys are about 15 to 16 weeks old, yours are late starters. At about 16 weeks I start butchering the ones I know I don't want to become my flock master. Breed the ones you want to eat and eat the ones you don't want to eat. Usually it is pretty to select the first and by 23 weeks I'm usually down to two or three left. That's when I usually make my final decision. I may not always guess right regarding behaviors, but it's usually not a horrible choice. But you only have two to choose from. That may be easy, it may not.

I see your options as letting it go and see what happens, but observe to see if any are getting hurt. Eat one now and see if that changed anything, or lock one or both boys separately for a month or two or maybe until a few pullets are laying and then try again. I would not fault you for any of them. I would not eat both because they are acting like typical teenagers and you do want to eventually breed them.

 

[NHMountainMan]

For what it's worth.... the lead pullet, a RSL, just beat the living hell out of the biggest bully. He's twice her size, and too big to fit in any of the hiding spots. No blood - but if a cockerel could have his tail between his legs...

 

[Ridgerunner]

That's not that uncommon. It's not the size of the chicken in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the chicken.