Which roo to shoo?

[HutchButch]

I got a flock of five at a young age and it turned out to have two roosters. I kept them together until one of them (I call him Jupiter) grew up a bit faster than the other (I call him Mercury).

Jupiter started out crowing and aggressively trying to mate with the hens (he even tore some feathers out of one of them). I tried isolating him, but the whole flock went on hunger strike. So I divided the hutch and put Jupiter into "horny jail" with a screen for him to still see the rest of the flock.

I didn't realize Mercury is a rooster until he started crowing and trying to mate with the hens as well. It turns out he's even more aggressive than Jupiter. If I put both Jupiter and Mercury into the same segment of the hutch, Mercury pecks at Jupiter who just cowers in the corner. Mercury also crows louder and more sharply than Jupiter. Whenever I give Mercury a "conjugal visit with a hen, he tries to mate with her constantly, sometimes multiple times. Two of the hens can't stand Mercury either.

I think what I have is an alpha male (Mercury) and a beta male (Jupiter). I've been keeping Jupiter with the hens, but I never see him try to mate with them. He gets a bit aggressive when I put down new food, I guess because he wants to eat first. Other than that, he's pretty docile around them and they don't seem to mind him.

If I put Mercury into the larger segment of the hutch with the hens, it's chaos, even if Jupiter isn't around.

So, here's my problem:

I plan on exchanging one of the roosters for a hen, but I'm not sure which to keep. If I keep Jupiter (which is what I'm considering doing), will he cease being a beta and mate with the hens? If I keep Mercury, will he calm down over time? Does it really matter which I keep?

 

[Galaxy_rules]

Keep Jupiter

 

[Nabiki]

Personally, I would keep the less violent one. Your ratio will still be a bit off if you replace one with a hen, but might still work out. Ideally you want 5 hens per roo, but depending on the temperament of your roo, 4 might work.

 

[HutchButch]

Personally, I would keep the less violent one. Your ratio will still be a bit off if you replace one with a hen, but might still work out. Ideally you want 5 hens per roo, but depending on the temperament of your roo, 4 might work.

Should I buy an additional hen when I exchange Mercury? Can you explain what happens if there aren't enough hens?

 

[Nabiki]

Should I buy an additional hen when I exchange Mercury? Can you explain what happens if there aren't enough hens?

If you can, it would be a good idea. If you don't have enough hens, they may get over bred. The best result of over breeding is bald hens. The worst is bloody or dead hens.

 

[HutchButch]

If you can, it would be a good idea. If you don't have enough hens, they may get over bred. The best result of over breeding is bald hens. The worst is bloody or dead hens.

I see. Thank you very much!