have 2 roosters, 1 very aggressive 1 docile

[Dok]

First time chicken owner. Have 12 buff orpingtons, 10 hens and 2 roosters. About 6 months old. They free range most days. One rooster is very dominant, has been attacking the crap out of me. Pecking very hard and tearing like has caused frays on my clothes. And jumping at me. I'm pretty set at going down to 1 rooster. Do I keep the dominant and hope he chills out once the other one is gone, or should I cut bait on the dominant one and hope the docile guy perks up? I really like the docile one, he seems to actually like me and lets me pet him LOL. But more than a pet I need one to watch over the hens.

Thoughts? Can I try to keep them both if so how should I approach that? Or if I go down to 1, which one would you keep?

 

[The Moonshiner]

There's no reason to keep a cockerel that is attacking you. Rid him and keep the other one.
IMO you'd have the best results if you didn't handle him very much.

 

[LRH97]

100% agree with Moonshiner. A cockerel that respects your personal space and yields to you is the one to keep. I cringe at many of the proposed methods on "taming" a human-aggressive bird. Most are a waste of time and end up stressing the bird and the flock owner out unnecessarily.

My experience has been that there are a usually a dozen better tempered birds to a nasty one.

 

[aart]

There's no reason to keep a cockerel that is attacking you. Rid him and keep the other one.

Ditto Dat^!
No telling how the other will behave once the nasty one is gone.

 

[Mrs. K]

Definitely cull the mean one. DO KNOW there is a chance you will have to cull the 'nice one now' rooster, as when you remove a rooster from the flock, it changes things, and there really isn't a way to predict how it will change.

IMO 2 roosters for 12 hens is too many roosters. And consider your space. Free ranging never makes up for too little space. I don't know what your space is like in the coop and run, but I do know, that if they ever have to go into too small of space, free ranging does not make up for it.

Mrs K

 

[Dok]

Appreciate all the responses.

QUESTION: from a free range/flock protection perspective are 2 roosters better than 1? they're by themselves quite a bit surrounded by wildlife preserves so there's chicken boogeymen hiding in the shadows for sure.

I'm not gonna just go whack him maybe give it to the weekend (they're on a property we're building a house on about 15 mins away) but I see them most days. Maybe he will start acting right and/or I will change my mind.

They're in a pretty big run, 10x10 coop with 6ft walls and 3 perches (but they all sit on the top one) and a 10x24 run when they're not free ranging, so I think they have plenty of space. Had a local chicken person tell me 2 roosters for 10 hens was definitely pushing it but for buffs and them being a bigger breed didn't seem like a showstopper. These were supposed to be 12 hens and I was hoping I got a roo but we ended up with 2

I will keep an eye on the thread for additional feedback and update in a few days hopefully. Thanks!

 

[FrostRanger]

Appreciate all the responses.

QUESTION: from a free range/flock protection perspective are 2 roosters better than 1? they're by themselves quite a bit surrounded by wildlife preserves so there's chicken boogeymen hiding in the shadows for sure.

I'm not gonna just go whack him maybe give it to the weekend (they're on a property we're building a house on about 15 mins away) but I see them most days. Maybe he will start acting right and/or I will change my mind.

They're in a pretty big run, 10x10 coop with 6ft walls and 3 perches (but they all sit on the top one) and a 10x24 run when they're not free ranging, so I think they have plenty of space. Had a local chicken person tell me 2 roosters for 10 hens was definitely pushing it but for buffs and them being a bigger breed didn't seem like a showstopper. These were supposed to be 12 hens and I was hoping I got a roo but we ended up with 2

I will keep an eye on the thread for additional feedback and update in a few days hopefully. Thanks!

Not really, roosters provide minimal protection to begin with, they mainly just sound the alarm. While you do occasionally hear about a rooster who fights off or kills a predator, they are the exception rather than the rule. One rooster can do that just fine (actually, in the absence of a rooster, the head hen will take up watch duty), too many roosters just adds stress and tension for everyone involved.

I'd also cull the aggressive roo and see how the timid one does. The thing to keep in mind about human aggression is it is genetic so you're far more likely to run into issues with aggression from any chicks the Hunan aggressive one fathers if you were to keep him and let him breed. Best way to have a nice flock is to not put up with mean birds

Good luck whatever you choose to do though! I will be looking forward to hear how things go

 

[Mrs. K]

Two years ago, I had two roosters in a flock of 12 hens. They seemed to get along just fine, and it seemed to be working out. But a neighbor lady was looking for a rooster, and I gave her one.

I was totally surprised, there was a tension in that flock that I was not even aware of, until it was gone. The hens were so much calmer. It was very noticeable. I won't keep two roosters again.

As for protection, sometimes what will happen, is the roosters pay too much attention to each other, and not enough to what is going on around them. However, while many respected posters have stated that they are not that great with predator protection, I have had different observations.

I live on a ranch with hundreds of acres and all the predators of the prairie: coons, coyotes, eagles, weasels, hawks. If I have a good rooster, (and not all of them are good) when he gets to be about a year old, I have had almost no day time losses due to predators, especially with hawks and eagles.

Some roosters are better than others. The best way to get a good rooster, is to not keep a rotten rooster.

As suggested above, do report back, experiences shared really help.

Mrs K

 

[z3lda3]

Two years ago, I had two roosters in a flock of 12 hens. They seemed to get along just fine, and it seemed to be working out. But a neighbor lady was looking for a rooster, and I gave her one.

I was totally surprised, there was a tension in that flock that I was not even aware of, until it was gone. The hens were so much calmer. It was very noticeable. I won't keep two roosters again.

As for protection, sometimes what will happen, is the roosters pay too much attention to each other, and not enough to what is going on around them. However, while many respected posters have stated that they are not that great with predator protection, I have had different observations.

I live on a ranch with hundreds of acres and all the predators of the prairie: coons, coyotes, eagles, weasels, hawks. If I have a good rooster, (and not all of them are good) when he gets to be about a year old, I have had almost no day time losses due to predators, especially with hawks and eagles.

Some roosters are better than others. The best way to get a good rooster, is to not keep a rotten rooster.

As suggested above, do report back, experiences shared really help.

Mrs K

Agreed! It’s crazy how tense a flock will be when there’s “disorder” with roosters. I had 5! roosters in a flock of 22. It not only caused fights with the boys, but the poor girls were stressed out. I now have my primary rooster with his flock, and a bachelor flock. It actually works out well, everyone seems happy. The “bachelors” get along great. And roosters are fantastic alarm systems. I want to say that my primary would fight for his girls, so far he hasn’t had to. But if he sees a hawk, he’ll scream the girls will run and hide, and he’ll run behind them. After a while he’ll mosey out do a perimeter check and give the all clear.
The way I have it set up, my bachelors are on the other side of my yard, and one will see something and scream, it gets the others screaming in turn my primary starts screaming. My girls are running, and I’m standing there seeing nothing, while all hell breaks loose, screaming “what? for the love of pancakes, what is it?!” So yes definitely great alarm systems.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

1. If you don't plan to hatch chicks, you don't need a rooster at all. You will still get plenty of eggs.

2. An aggressive rooster can actually hurt you. Worse, he can do serious harm to a child, whether your own or a visitor. He can put out an eye for one thing, and his claws, beak and spurs can inflict injuries that can take a long time to heal and get infected.

3. A good rooster is worth his weight in gold. A mean one makes excellent soup.

4. Please don't "rehome" an aggressive bird or give him away to a "good home." He could just hurt someone else. At least be up front about his temperament and don't ask questions about his fate.