Two roosters

[ds200421]

I have two roosters, I love them both so much they are my pets. They are 21 weeks we have two other hens their age and have two more 11 week old hens I plan of integrating soon. My two roosters have been quarreling lately and I have a hard time getting them all to bed because of the fighting. One of my other hens seems distressed as well because of the fighting and sits on the house a lot of the time. Should I get rid of one of my roosters? I would have to rehome him. I love my chickens very much and don’t want to get rid of any of them but I am worried for his safety. Do you think once I add my two younger hens that the roosters would get along better or should I begin the relocation process for one of my roosters. I would be rehoming my less dominant rooster who is not the leader of my current flock

 

[wrathsfarm]

If they are fighting now, it will more than likely get worse. At 21 weeks they should have their so to speak 'pecking order' established with one being the 'alpha' or dominant one.
Also with roosters, most often they don't share. One wants all the girls and so does the other.


I would keep your nicer, least aggressive one of the two, and re-home the other. And you should think about adding more hens for the one that stays.

 

[Tesharnerose]

I have two roosters, I love them both so much they are my pets. They are 21 weeks we have two other hens their age and have two more 11 week old hens I plan of integrating soon. My two roosters have been quarreling lately and I have a hard time getting them all to bed because of the fighting. One of my other hens seems distressed as well because of the fighting and sits on the house a lot of the time. Should I get rid of one of my roosters? I would have to rehome him. I love my chickens very much and don’t want to get rid of any of them but I am worried for his safety. Do you think once I add my two younger hens that the roosters would get along better or should I begin the relocation process for one of my roosters. I would be rehoming my less dominant rooster who is not the leader of my current flock

I have a similar problem, I put some hens in with one rooster who is locked in a diffrent coop, and let the flocks out to free range etc one flock at a time do I have divided my flock into 2 smaller ones when one flock is locked up thr others can come out and I get them back in via food.

 

[Mrs. K]

Cockerels are very prone to huge shifts in personality. Many become very aggressive. As chicks they are darling, and those are the birds you love. But there is no way to go back.

I would expect there is huge tension in your flock, even among the birds that are appearing to handle it.

Always solve for peace in the flock. Definitely remove one rooster, understanding that there is a strong possibility that you may need to remove both.

As you are finding out, being raised together is no guarantee they will get along. There really is little you can do to get a good rooster. It is just chance.

I would expect adding the pullets to cockerels will make the pullets lives hell. Pullets should not be exposed to cockerels until they are laying. Older roosters tend not to bother pullets till they are ready.

Roosters are where the romance of chickens meets reality is what AArt says.

MrsK

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have two roosters, I love them both so much they are my pets. They are 21 weeks we have two other hens their age and have two more 11 week old hens I plan of integrating soon.

It is hard for me to talk about behaviors with chickens in that older age bracket and say that one thing is definitely going to happen. Real life doesn't work that way. If those older pullets are laying they should act like mature hens. The one on the roof she may be trying to get away from the boys, my guess is that she is not laying. The other one may be.

Your younger pullets should act like chicks until they start laying. There can always be exceptions but what that means in my flock is that the younger pullets avoid the older until about the time they start laying. I often have my 5-week-old chicks integrated with the flock of adults but what that means is that they stay away from the older ones during the day and do not sleep on the same roosts together at night. But the older do not go out of their way to harm the younger. I personally don't care where any of my chickens sleep as long as it is predator safe and not in the nests. Good luck on the integration. If you have sufficient room it probably won't be that rough.

I'm not one that automatically believes a cockerel is practically always a terror waiting to happen and will never be any good. As to the fighting, they are determining which one is the dominant one. It sounds like you know but they are still fighting. They could fight to the death. One could be seriously wounded during that fighting. Or they may reach an accommodation where one accepts the dominance of the other and they work together to take care of the flock.

The less space you have the more likely you are going to have a bad result. We've domesticated them so you can have exceptions but the natural instinct is like a feral flock. The dominant rooster runs any challengers out of his flock entirely so the flock can live in peace, very much like how in a wild horse herd the herd stallion runs any male challengers out of his herd or kills them so all the mares are his.

You can have exceptions, I have. Domestication has changed them some. But the basic instinct is for the dominant one to run the others out of his flock.

How will the boys treat those younger pullets? Again, lots of different things could happen. Usually in my flock they leave them alone until they start to lay. But usually doesn't mean always. The number you have may work against you. I often have three or four different aged immature chickens in my flock along with adults. The boys practically never bother the younger pullets but they have several their own age or older.

Should I get rid of one of my roosters?

I would. it's not that you are guaranteed problems keeping both but problems are much more likely if you keep both. Your stress level and the stress level in your flock will probably drop considerably if you do.

I would be rehoming my less dominant rooster who is not the leader of my current flock

It is possible either cockerel will become a great flock master once they get past their immature hormone-driven adolescence. It is possible either will become a terror as he matures, either human aggressive or hard on the hens. While they are immature adolescents they are often hard on the girls but that is not a good indication how they will be later when they all mature.

I cannot tell you how one will react when you remove the other. It is possible with the competition removed the one you keep will calm down. Or with the other gone they may feel free to become a terror toward you or the girls.

Good luck!

 

[PrettyCoolChicks]

I am all for keeping multiple cockerells/roosters and have done so myself with those that worked out together, but based on your description I would rehome your non-dominant rooster as soon as you can because the stress level in your flock seems too high.

 

[FrostRanger]

With that few females I'd rehome both cockerels. At the very least, rehome one, separate the remaining for a while to give your pullets some peace and get a few more females (at least 2, but preferably more)

 

[Mrs. K]

I often have my 5-week-old chicks integrated with the flock of adults but what that means is that they stay away from the older ones during the day and do not sleep on the same roosts together at night. But the older do not go out of their way to harm the younger. I personally don't care

You have a long established multi-generational flock, where young birds are raised up under older birds. Young cockerels are smaller than other birds in the flock. Older hens add to their education.

I think the OP is beginning a flock, has no mature birds, even though not all of the birds are not the same age, the oldest are just coming into maturity. With two roosters, or even just one rooster, I think there can be considerable problems with the flock.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

With two roosters, or even just one rooster, I think there can be considerable problems with the flock.

I agree, there can be. They can also work out great. If you notice I recommended getting rid of one in my post. I thought about it but did not do it in this thread but I often suggest the perfect number of males in a flock is 0 or 1.

As much as we agree on other things I think we'll always disagree on cockerels. I don't believe the majority are going to be a huge problem once they grow up. I very much believe puberty can be rough, it often is. Often it is harder on the person watching than the chickens involved. I believe if you can get through that phase many if not most will turn into a decent flock master whether they have older hens beating them up or not. Some of my better flock masters would not allow the hens to beat them up when they were adolescents.

We have different experiences and have seen different things so we have different opinions. That's not unusual on this forum.

 

[Mrs. K]

I highly respect your contributions to this forum. Perhaps I over state the worst possibilities when it comes to excess roosters. I do think there is a difference in a long term flock with an experienced keeper and new to the chicken world set up.

Mrs K