Two Roosters and one Hen!!!!

[minksroost]

forgot to also add there are no spurs yet. the red is mounting the hen already and pulls at the feathers on her neck. That's as rough as it is so far and frankly I don't even like that. but I wonder after your message if he will continue to get rougher?

 

[Ridgerunner]

The roughest is usually when they are adolescents. As they get older roosters usually improve their technique and hens usually cooperate more. It usually gets better, not worse.

Chickens mating is not nearly as rough as it seems. The hen squats so that gets the weight of the rooster into the ground without hurting the hen. His grab of her behind the head is her signal to raise her tail out of his way to present a better target. It helps him keep his balance and positions him so he can better hit the target. There is a reason for what they do.

 

[Henrietta58]

Anyone know what happened here? I , too, have two roosters and one hen--they were all supposed to be hens. So far things are fine--what are the signs, besides loss of feathers, that I should be looking for regarding the hen. Worried about over mating--both boys are sharing her... and as far as I can tell she does not seem too stressed about it. They all share a roost at night and she stays with the both of them all the time.

 

[Peeps61]

the two are getting along fine now. the red is the dominant for sure and the other doesn't push the issue. I agree with you in the fact that I would be better off 're- homing one. difficult for me since yes I'm attached already to them. I mentioned separating to my husband but he didn't seem thrilled to say the least of building another coop. We went way over the top on our coop. I was concerned about predators. We live in a very rural area so we don't have to worry about neighbors or ordnance's thank goodness. I appreciate all the info. I'm wondering if I should just keep watching the behavior and get to spring and get 3 hens. fingers crossed that this won't cause the submissive rooster to start pushing back.

Your other alternative would be to keep them both and provide enough hens for them. I would say a minimum of 6 - 8 hens for each one.

On a personal note, I have two roosters - brothers from a hatch last year. They are polish/white leghorn crosses. I've got 26 hens and they each have a small flock of their own, but do mingle together while they are free ranging. I had locked the entire flock up in two separate coops (right next to each other, so they could still see each other) for a week to retrain the hens to lay in the nesting boxes. When I let them back out, the roosters fought with each other for about 1/2 a day, then the plainly dominant one took his flock to the choice ranging areas on my property while the other satisfied himself with hanging around the barn with his girls. Some of my older hens (2 years or more) still don't allow the younger roosters to mate them. In fact, I've seen my white cochin peck the heck out of either rooster that tries. I can tell the roosters apart because one has a cushion comb (polish) and the other has a straight comb (leghorn). Otherwise, they are identical. The guy with the straight comb is the head rooster. They are interesting and fun to watch, but I'm with Donrae and share the concerns about the one hen being overmated. Even if only one rooster is doing the mating, it would be several times a day and that's a lot for just one hen. If you do rehome a rooster, then you can probably get by with the hen you have and 3 more chicks. Good luck!

 

[Peeps61]

Anyone know what happened here? I , too, have two roosters and one hen--they were all supposed to be hens. So far things are fine--what are the signs, besides loss of feathers, that I should be looking for regarding the hen. Worried about over mating--both boys are sharing her... and as far as I can tell she does not seem too stressed about it. They all share a roost at night and she stays with the both of them all the time.

It happens. I've only had it happen once, and that rooster was mean! I bought two Easter Eggers from a feed store - supposedly pullets, but only one of them was. The other was my first NASTY rooster! He had to go! My second rooster was a "free" gift from the hatchery, and he was a real sweetie. He is the father of the two crosses I have now, and they have inherited his non-human aggressive traits, for which I am thankful! I'm glad the OP's roosters appear to be fairly well behaved too.

What are your plans? More chicks

? I don't know your situation, but more hens are definitely needed if you keep even one of the boys, and especially if you keep them both.