Too many roosters?

[silkiefluff]

I have 5 silkies right now and two turned out to be roosters. I love them both, but they are singling out one. Hes always on his own and the other rooster grabs his head tuft a lot. When I check on them at night they are all curled up together except this one rooster. Looks-wise I like the picked-at rooster better, but am worried if I give away/sell the "mean" rooster that the other will get along with the hens. Will the pecking order reestablish itself? Or should I just keep both?

 

[sittinghenlove]

I have this problem too. I have 2 Roosters and have had them for about 1 1/2 years. Eventually, the stronger Rooster will become the one that mates with the hens while the less dominant one will be a glorified security guard. But what they will do is trade off responsibility. I don't know if you free range or how big your property is, but the dominet Rooster will walk your property line while the other rooster will walk side by side with the hens all day. When a hen wants to roost and lay, one rooster will escort it to the coop and wait until the hen is done and then escort it back to the flock. This is how they establish the pecking order.

If they are young and you stop the agression against eachother as it happens, then you can control and even change the pecking order. But this takes a strong person to grab the rooster and tame it and it takes time. Its not overnight but within a few weeks you can teach them that you are the boss and you are determining the pecking order if you are consisent. But 2 roosters for 3 hens is a bit too much, you need to get more hens or the roosters will take out all their mating agression on the small flock. I think the ratio is one rooster for at least 5 hens.

For me, I like having 2 protectors, but I have an acre of land to protect and about a dozen hens. My roosters are agressive, but they haven't lost a hen yet! So I decided to keep them.

 

[silkiefluff]

I'm nervous if I keep the less dominant one (the one I like better) that he won't "man-up". What do you think? Will he become the man of the flock?

 

[silkiefluff]

I forgot to mention, I do free range during the day and my less dominant one is always behind or off by himself. My other rooster won't let him within a certain distance. he's not aggressive, but he's not nice.

 

[sittinghenlove]

If you get rid of the dominet one, the little one will step up and run the roost. Once it see's that he is alone and the only male, his agression will increase and he will boss the hens around...and they will fall in line. Right now, the pecking order has been made, so the little rooster does what he's told and stays away. But his instincts will kick in as soon as the big one is gone.

The only thing I would be concerned about is the size of your rooster. Usually the dominant one will get bigger over time and if you don't get rid of him quickly, your little rooster will stay smaller and not be as good a protector as the bigger one would have been. The bigger the better when it comes to roosters and their protection skills.

The pecking order will change whenever new birds come in or birds die off. It's always evolving as your flock evolves. But at the end of the day, the rooster is "da man"!!!

 

[silkiefluff]

Thanks for the info! The less dominant rooster is actually bigger than the dominant rooster, just noticed today. I just wish they could get along without having to buy hens.

 

[Shades of Blue]

I took my son in laws rooster that was being picked on by the two other roos. He was chased by my hens for about a month.....and then one day.....he emerged into King Sid....lol. Sid is now the boss of his girls....and no other rooster would dare come near them. So yep....the one bullied....has become triumphant and dominant. So your guy will step up to the plate also.

 

[silkiefluff]

Thanks everyone! Makes me feel my decision is right!