Which cockerel

[Rick589]

Have two cockerels, one is the alpha and a bit of a bully. The other, the beta, is much more of a gentleman. Looking to get rid of one because, as stated in other posts, we only have six chickens. The alpha hangs with the hens and stay clear of us. The beta is more engaged with us although he does at times want to square off with the woman of the house, nothing really serious at this point. I have no issues with either, we set the rules early on. Anyway, we’re thinking of getting rid of the alpha but thought we’d see what some of you seasoned owners have to say.

 

[sourland]

Sometimes removing the alpha results in a personality change in the beta. Is there any way you can remove the alpha from the flock for a couple of weeks and see how the beta reacts? If not, I would keep the alpha - he's a known quantity.

 

[Logar]

The beta is more engaged with us although he does at times want to square off with the woman of the house, nothing really serious at this point.

Chances are it will get worse. don't risk it. Cull him or give him to someone with full understanding that he has a good chance of being a danger, don't pass a risk onto someone else. and the thing is if you get rid of the dominant cockerel, it will usually result in him getting more confident.

one is the alpha and a bit of a bully

don't keep a bully either. dont put him above your pullets well being.

I would get rid of both. maybe just the less dominant one for now for and see how the one dominant one matures for a few months but be prepared to get rid of both

 

[FrostRanger]

I'd get rid of the beta, he's already showing early signs of human aggression and it'll very likely only get worse

 

[Ridgerunner]

What do you mean the Alpha is a bit of a bully? How old is he and the girls, I can't remember? What actions are you seeing? It's hard for me to evaluate something if I don't know what is going on. If he is showing any human aggression he should be gone. If he is keeping the other cockerel away from the girls or just demonstrating his dominance over the Beta, that is normal behavior. If he is mating some pullets against their will, as long as none are getting injured I don't have a problem with that. He is establishing his dominance over the flock, totally normal. But what does that look like? How vicious is it? What is typical if a pullet runs away is that he chases her down, grabs her head, that is her signal to squat, and they mate.

The dominant cockerel will cause the submissive cockerel to modify his behavior, especially toward the pullets. You do not know what that Beta will do if you remove the Alpha. You just don't. Sourland's suggestion to house the Alpha separately is not a bad idea though that does not give you any guarantees as to how he (or the Alpha) will behave as they get older.

he does at times want to square off with the woman of the house, nothing really serious at this point.

Again, I don't know what this looks like to evaluate how risky it is. I don't know how a change in his flock status might affect this. To me it is a flag to watch but I'm not sure it is a total disqualification yet. But with me he would be on shaky ground.

 

[wrathsfarm]

What do you mean the Alpha is a bit of a bully? How old is he and the girls, I can't remember? What actions are you seeing? It's hard for me to evaluate something if I don't know what is going on. If he is showing any human aggression he should be gone. If he is keeping the other cockerel away from the girls or just demonstrating his dominance over the Beta, that is normal behavior. If he is mating some pullets against their will, as long as none are getting injured I don't have a problem with that. He is establishing his dominance over the flock, totally normal. But what does that look like? How vicious is it? What is typical if a pullet runs away is that he chases her down, grabs her head, that is her signal to squat, and they mate.

The dominant cockerel will cause the submissive cockerel to modify his behavior, especially toward the pullets. You do not know what that Beta will do if you remove the Alpha. You just don't. Sourland's suggestion to house the Alpha separately is not a bad idea though that does not give you any guarantees as to how he (or the Alpha) will behave as they get older.


Again, I don't know what this looks like to evaluate how risky it is. I don't know how a change in his flock status might affect this. To me it is a flag to watch but I'm not sure it is a total disqualification yet. But with me he would be on shaky ground.

I agree... The Beta could be the Alphas root cause of the bullying. First and foremost I would remove the human aggressive one and keep the one the that stays clear of you, in this case I would keep the Alpha.

 

[Sic]

Have two cockerels, one is the alpha and a bit of a bully. The other, the beta, is much more of a gentleman. Looking to get rid of one because, as stated in other posts, we only have six chickens. The alpha hangs with the hens and stay clear of us. The beta is more engaged with us although he does at times want to square off with the woman of the house, nothing really serious at this point. I have no issues with either, we set the rules early on. Anyway, we’re thinking of getting rid of the alpha but thought we’d see what some of you seasoned owners have to say.

If you only have six, then you only have four hens or pullets. It sounds like you bought 6 and ended up with 2 males? What is your purpose for keeping either of these cockerels? You really don't have enough females for the aggressive mating and antics of cockerels, cull them. If you don't have the stomach to cull them/eat them, then rehoming is an option. There's really no reason to keep a male unless your purpose is future breeding, and breeding requires culling, just something to think about. I personally would not keep either one, but if you're set on keeping one, keep the alpha that stays with the girls and away from you, that's how it should be.

 

[Mrs. K]

There is a good chance that neither of these will work. I would cull the beta bird first, then see. Maybe the alpha will turn out, but there is at least an equal chance he won't.

Often times, cockerels raised with flock mates don't turn out, but sometimes they do. With just 4 birds, probably a cockerel free flock would be a good thing until you get some experience. Roosters really need some experience.

The woman of the house, should come first, get rid of anything that does not work for her. The beta is showing aggression that often times new people think of as friendliness, it is not.

Mrs k

 

[SamLockwood]

Have two cockerels, one is the alpha and a bit of a bully. The other, the beta, is much more of a gentleman. Looking to get rid of one because, as stated in other posts, we only have six chickens. The alpha hangs with the hens and stay clear of us. The beta is more engaged with us although he does at times want to square off with the woman of the house, nothing really serious at this point. I have no issues with either, we set the rules early on. Anyway, we’re thinking of getting rid of the alpha but thought we’d see what some of you seasoned owners have to say.

You definitely need to get rid of one. A couple of points, based on my experiences:

1) "Bullying" is common for "alpha" birds.

The pecking order never stays fixed. Birds lower in the order will often try to push the limts, and the birds higher up will defend their place (often pre-emptively). I see it every day with the roosters in my larger flock: The alpha will chase off the beta, then in short order the beta will chase the gamma. This gets triggered by all sorts of things: somebody mating with somebody else's favorite, somebody getting treats that they want for themselves or their hens. Sometimes my lead rooster chases the others to to place them wants them to stand watch over the flock.

A lot of times the "bullying" someone witnessed is the tail-end of an interaction that started out with the "victim" testing the "aggressor."

Last year my mom freaked out becuase she thought she saw one of the roosters mounting a squawking cockerel. What she didn't see but I did was the silent first half of that interaction, where the cockerel had charged the rooster with his hackles raised and wings spread.

Sometimes the alpha is just being pre-emptive and reminding the beta who's boss. You've got to remember this is a species that doesn't have a particularly sophisticated means of communication.

2) I wouldn't worry about your alpha rooster keeping his distace from you. If you read enough of these forums, you'll notice a common thread of friendly cockerels turning human aggressive when they mature.

I think there's several reasons for it: first, beign human-friendly means the bird is either more confidnt in general or it's simply imprinted on a person or persons and thus they sort of regard that person as just another chicken.

This is a double-edged sword: on one hand it can make your life easier as a chicken keeper because your chickens want to be around you. On the other hand if they get angry or they simply want to test your limits (which chickens constantly do with each other) his means they're more likely to engage in aggressive or rude behaviors.

One of the things I can't do is enjoy a snack on my deck any more because the little feathered moochers will surround me hoping I drop something. My friendliest hens are the ones that will literally try to jump in my lap and try snatch the food right out of my mouth.

3) I'm not sure what "wants to square off" with your partner means.

If he's raising his hackles and taking a fighting stance (wings spread, tail fanned out), he's challegning her and sizing her up for a physical attack.

If he does things like stamping a foot, darting at her, or acting like he's going to peck her that's still aggressive but not as bad. I refer to this behavior as "being punchy."

Neither behavior should ever be ignored or considered "cute." I'd be leery of keeping a rooster that's actually challenging people, that's a rather high-strung male and he is unlikely to improve with age.

I have been able to work with roosters that only get punchy. It's not the sort of thing I'd recommend to someone new to chickens but it can be done if you've got a decent working knowledge of their behavior and body language and can spare the time to train them.

4) You're absolutely right that you can't have two roosters in a flock that size. A 6 or 7 to one ratio can work if your birds have enough space and your rooster isn't crazy.