What do you do with all of your roosters?

[junebuggena]

We had a FBCM roo and Black Cochin roo that were brooded together. As soon as they came into sexual maturity the FBCM made short work of the gentle Black Cochin. Very heartbreaking to find him dead, but I learned my lesson. There can only be one cock in the hen house!

Not really normal at all. I've got 2 adult roosters in my flock, and there is always at least 2 or more cockerels around. At one point, I had 17 males of varying ages. No such violence at all. That Marans would be turned into soup here. He'll likely pass that aggression on to his offspring.

 

[ChickAsThieves]

Eh, I suppose I shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions about what happened to the Cochin. I found him dead in the coop. He wasn't visibly injured, but he also hadn't been ill or anything like that the day before, that I had noticed. I *assume* the was some sort of altercation with the other roo, but I don't have any evidence of it. Ragnar, the FBCM, has never so much as looked at me sideways, let alone acted aggressively towards me, so I am not concerned about breeding him.

Our birds do not free range, so they can't really get away from each other if there was a problem between roos. That's why I prefer not to have more than one. Plus, I want to be sure of who the father is if I incubate eggs.

 

[dekel18042]

Eh, I suppose I shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions about what happened to the Cochin. I found him dead in the coop. He wasn't visibly injured, but he also hadn't been ill or anything like that the day before, that I had noticed. I *assume* the was some sort of altercation with the other roo, but I don't have any evidence of it. Ragnar, the FBCM, has never so much as looked at me sideways, let alone acted aggressively towards me, so I am not concerned about breeding him.

Our birds do not free range, so they can't really get away from each other if there was a problem between roos. That's why I prefer not to have more than one. Plus, I want to be sure of who the father is if I incubate eggs.

There can be many natural reasons an adult bird that looks healthy can die suddenly. We had one line where several died suddenly from neurological problems so we didn't breed from them. A heart problem can kill suddenly and the other year we lost a beautiful little game rooster when he ate (choked on) dry fodder that contained what looked like a foxtail. We had had extremely dry conditions so what was cut along with the hay used for bedding was very dry. It was a learning experience.

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

Eh, I suppose I shouldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions about what happened to the Cochin. I found him dead in the coop. He wasn't visibly injured, but he also hadn't been ill or anything like that the day before, that I had noticed. I *assume* the was some sort of altercation with the other roo, but I don't have any evidence of it. Ragnar, the FBCM, has never so much as looked at me sideways, let alone acted aggressively towards me, so I am not concerned about breeding him.

Our birds do not free range, so they can't really get away from each other if there was a problem between roos. That's why I prefer not to have more than one. Plus, I want to be sure of who the father is if I incubate eggs.

It doesn't sound like the other rooster killed him at all. @dekel18042 made some good points.

 

[ChickAsThieves]

It doesn't sound like the other rooster killed him at all. @dekel18042 made some good points.

You're right. The more I think about it, and the more I interact with our roo, the less inclined I am to believe that he harmed the Cochin. Whatever happened, it was quick, at least. It's too bad because he was a very beautiful bird.