Young cockerel question

[henless]

I have 2 young cockerels that are about 4 1/2 mos old. They are both English Orps and are getting to be pretty good sized.

About 6 weeks ago, the biggest (Tom), started harassing his pullet hatch mates. I put him and the other cockerel in with my older hens, who knocked some since into them. Everything has been going fine. Both started crowing and would test each other, but nothing major would come of it. Then the smaller one started developing more. His comb/wattles have gotten bigger & more red. His tail feathers are coming in and starting to curl. In the meantime, Tom has stopped developing. He has a slight tail, but his comb/wattles have not come in like the other one.

Tom has always been the more dominate of the two, until the changes started. Now the smaller one is dominate. He puts Tom in his place, but not overly mean. He does the crowing and has mounted some of the hens, but not all let him. Everything was still going ok between the two, until last Friday. That evening when I was out feeding/egg gathering, I noticed that the smaller cockerel was really chasing after Tom. He was going after Tom's comb and really getting a hold on it. It was getting close to dark, and the cockerel finally went in to roost. Tom came in later.

The next morning early, I was out at the pen and it started all over again. This time there was no let up.
Usually when Tom would cower down, the other roo would let up and leave Tom alone. Not this time. He kept after him. Tom had his head down in the corner and the cockerel was doing his best to reach Tom's comb. I went in the pen and the cockerel left him alone. I ended up putting the cockerel in a pen by himself and left Tom with the hens.

My question is this normal male dominance? Should I just let it play out or keep them separated? I thought hatch mates got along pretty good until they got much older. I had planned on keeping both cockerels for a while. Putting one with my Orp pullets and leaving the other with the egg layers.

Neither has shown human aggression. The smaller cockerel did do some "tid bitting" when I was trying to catch him and had him cornered. But other than that, nothing.

The only thing that has changed is I got some new chicks in Friday and have them in a seperate coop. So maybe the sound of chicks has set of the aggression/dominance or maybe this cockerel may be a more aggressive one?

My first time raising cockerels, so any help would be appreciated. I never really over handled them. I would pick them up and hand feed when younger, but once the feathers (or lack of) started developing and I could kinda tell who was who, I was careful not to handle them too much.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If you plan to separate them later anyways than do it now, otherwise let them work it out unless it gets really bad, they do go after each other's comb when they fight.

Sometimes having only two roosters can be a problem because there's only the two and they only focus on each other, when there are more than two they seem to get along better.

Roosters go through a butthead stage and fight and make trouble more, like teenage boys, they grow out of it by a year old, I usually wait to judge them until after they are a year old. Yours sound like they are behaving themselves mostly, the bigger ones mature a bit slower, but they aren't as hyper as some lighter breeds.

About half of my young roosters get separated out for a few months to mature and calm down, and others because I'm not sure where I want them to fit in yet. I have a pen where I put them where they still can do some interacting through the fence.

Sounds like you are doing things right, how you manage it depends on your future plans. Roosters add a lot to a flock.

 

[centrarchid]

Once you have one bird getting the other down I would remove one. I would also entertain idea of placing both cockerels in a bachlelor pen until they mature and you can get a better handle on which is better. Generally, the sexually mature males get along better when females not present.

 

[henless]

If you plan to separate them later anyways than do it now, otherwise let them work it out unless it gets really bad, they do go after each other's comb when they fight.

Sometimes having only two roosters can be a problem because there's only the two and they only focus on each other, when there are more than two they seem to get along better.

Roosters go through a butthead stage and fight and make trouble more, like teenage boys, they grow out of it by a year old, I usually wait to judge them until after they are a year old. Yours sound like they are behaving themselves mostly, the bigger ones mature a bit slower, but they aren't as hyper as some lighter breeds.

About half of my young roosters get separated out for a few months to mature and calm down, and others because I'm not sure where I want them to fit in yet. I have a pen where I put them where they still can do some interacting through the fence.

Sounds like you are doing things right, how you manage it depends on your future plans. Roosters add a lot to a flock.

I was hoping since they were hatch mates that they would get along better, for a longer period of time. They are ok in the pens they are in now. I have the trouble maker in the pullets run until my other coop is finished.

Once you have one bird getting the other down I would remove one. I would also entertain idea of placing both cockerels in a bachlelor pen until they mature and you can get a better handle on which is better. Generally, the sexually mature males get along better when females not present.

I assume the cockerels need to be in seperate pens and not together right? How far away do the females need to be? Can they be in an adjoining pen (to the females) or would that just add fuel to the fire?

 

[centrarchid]

I assume the cockerels need to be in seperate pens and not together right? How far away do the females need to be? Can they be in an adjoining pen (to the females) or would that just add fuel to the fire? 

I have not explored effects of proximity or barriers. I simply have pens a few feet apart and view is obstructed.