Transit a second rooster back into coop

[stronggirl]

I had to take one of my roosters out of the coop to address some frostbite. He was only out of the coop a couple days, but as i am trying to move him back in , he is going after the primary rooster (Boris). They have not had any previous issues as number 2 rooster (jenner) was raised as a chick around Boris. Ive brought Jenner out the last 2 days to the coop and have stayed there every second. I have had to grab and pick up one of them to keep them from attacking each other badly. Im thinking that i may need to put up some poutry fence inside the coop to try and transition jenner back into behaving the way he did afew days ago...any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, all!

 

[chicklover 1998]

if you put him in a dog kennel or cage within the coop or run wherever your flock will be for most of the day you can get them used to your roo again.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You should never remove a rooster, always keep them within sight of any other roosters. You may have to keep him penned separately for a bit. You will be fighting an uphill battle as rooster hormones are raging with the approach of spring, they may never get along now, and may have to fight it out.

Roosters heal fine from frostbite without any intervention, so next time leave them be unless there's a serious pecking problem.

 

[chicklover 1998]

You should never remove a rooster, always keep them within sight of any other roosters. You may have to keep him penned separately for a bit. You will be fighting an uphill battle as rooster hormones are raging with the approach of spring, they may never get along now, and may have to fight it out.

Roosters heal fine from frostbite without any intervention, so next time leave them be unless there's a serious pecking problem.

X2

 

[aart]

Agrees with oldhenslikesdogs.

But I would also ask: Why do you need 2 cock/erels?
Chances are they may have stared fighting anyway with the upcoming spring fever.

More info on your coop/run and goals with your flock might help us help you find a solution.

 

[stronggirl]

We "adopted" 3 school hatched chicks last springs-turns out all 3 of those buff Orpington s were roosters. I have to keep the other 2 separate from the flock as they are very aggressive toward the others and we believe they actually killed one of the hens. They never messed with Boris though. Frostbite on jenner warranted pulling him-hens were pecking on some spots and he was bleeding from them. My "coop" is actually a former storage she'd that's vented quite well- it's a good 14x14 and prob about 8 or 9 feet tall. My flock are well loved chickens that we don't ever use for food-a pretty spoiled bunch. They free range when the winter weather cooperates and through the rest of the seasons. I've had some of the hens now for over 3 years and never had a second rooster until this past season. We do have options with "fencing" jenner in the coop with the others, s will try that. I didn't know that it was a bad thing to separate the 2 roos and feel so badly that I caused this because of my lack of knowledge. I'm an RN so we always like to handle the medical issues the right way! I am grateful for the feedback.

 

[stronggirl]

And if I let them "fight it out" won't they kill each other or stand the potential to become seriously injured? Jenner is the one initiating the battle...

 

[aart]

And if I let them "fight it out" won't they kill each other or stand the potential to become seriously injured? Jenner is the one initiating the battle...

Yup, they could very well kill each other...or at least serious injuries.

If you're going to keep male livestock as pets, you're most likely going to have to keep them separated.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I personally have never had two roosters kill each other, but others have said they have seen it. You could rotate who's out and keep the other penned.

By removing the rooster you has jostled the pecking order enough to cause fighting, many roosters will fight in early spring with the hopes of getting to the top, while one is trying to keep the top spot, you may have better luck getting them back together after summer when hormones start to wane.

I have a separation pen within my shed where birds can be isolated but are still part of the flock. I have had good luck penning new roosters for a few months then releasing them into the flock, most take the bottom spot without any fighting.

I can't tell you how to proceed, it's something that has to be decided based on the behavior of your roosters, and whether you can handle seeing your boys all bloodied, they will look worse than any frostbite does.

 

[bobbi-j]

We "adopted" 3 school hatched chicks last springs-turns out all 3 of those buff Orpington s were roosters. I have to keep the other 2 separate from the flock as they are very aggressive toward the others and we believe they actually killed one of the hens. They never messed with Boris though. Frostbite on jenner warranted pulling him-hens were pecking on some spots and he was bleeding from them. My "coop" is actually a former storage she'd that's vented quite well- it's a good 14x14 and prob about 8 or 9 feet tall. My flock are well loved chickens that we don't ever use for food-a pretty spoiled bunch. They free range when the winter weather cooperates and through the rest of the seasons. I've had some of the hens now for over 3 years and never had a second rooster until this past season. We do have options with "fencing" jenner in the coop with the others, s will try that. I didn't know that it was a bad thing to separate the 2 roos and feel so badly that I caused this because of my lack of knowledge. I'm an RN so we always like to handle the medical issues the right way! I am grateful for the feedback.

Don't beat yourself up. Chicken keeping has a steep learning curve sometimes. And chickens are like kids - once you figure out the rules, they change the game.