Help Needed -- Aggressive Cockerels

[Julie-ChickenMom]

I need help! I’m a brand new chicken mom with 13 – 13 week olds from a straight run. I have 6 crowing cockerels and I believe 5 pullets and I’m still unsure of 2 but hoping they are pullets.

The cockerels are getting very aggressive with each other and the pullets. I’m worried the pullets aren’t getting sufficient food so I’ve started to put them in a separate OMLET tractor during the day for now.

The pullets have been afraid to come out of the coop in the morning as they attacked by some of the cockerels and they cower in a corner when one comes back in the coop. At first I thought they were checking on the pullets but they seem SO aggressive. When I forced them all out of the coop yesterday morning, 3 cockerels went after one of the larger unknowns, biting its neck and maybe trying to mount? I rescued it and put it in the tractor with the other pullets I had already moved.

2 nights ago I put the pullets in the coop first and then let the cockerels in the coop at the last minute and that seemed to work okay with no real fighting other then what I believe is normal space & location bickering at bedtime, but then last night when I tried the same thing 2 went after the unknown referenced above, chasing it out of the coop. They all ran around the run cornering the cowering victim and 2 took turns biting the back of its neck until I broke them up. I put that one and 2 more pullets in the OMLET for the night.

I also put one of the cockerels in a large dog crate in the run. This one was the first I noticed to be aggressive but is now ganged up on by everyone else. He is starting to bite at me when I go to pick him up or add food & water. He started with gentle-ish bites but they are getting harder and broke skin last night.

I don’t know what is normal pecking order behavior and what is over the top. They really chase each other, biting necks; usually in a group. One male is missing quite a few feathers on the back of his neck though now he is one of the biggest aggressors.

My original intent was to harvest all but one or two roosters when I knew who was the best protectors of the hens, but I definitely can’t tell that now and I didn’t think I’d need to make that decision so soon (and they do grow on you and I’ve had second thoughts on this).

I would sincerely appreciate advice from this experienced group. They are so brutal but I don’t know if I’m just making it worse or if I need to permanently remove a couple immediately to calm things down.

Sorry for the book--just trying to be thorough in my description

 

[LaFleche]

As you have seen already with your youngsters cockerels should best be kept separated from the pullets from the age of 9 weeks on as they start to feel their hormones several months earlier than the females and will harrass the pullets nonstop, often leaving them injured and starved due to the constant aggression.

Separate the males this evening and don't put them back with the pullets.
Try to find them new homes before your pullets get seriously injured or even killed which happens when cockerels gang up to rape them nonstop.

 

[Julie-ChickenMom]

As you have seen already with your youngsters cockerels should best be kept separated from the pullets from the age of 9 weeks on as they start to feel their hormones several months earlier than the females and will harrass the pullets nonstop, often leaving them injured and starved due to the constant aggression.

Separate the males this evening and don't put them back with the pullets.
Try to find them new homes before your pullets get seriously injured or even killed which happens when cockerels gang up to rape them nonstop.

Ugh. Thank you for your response. I definitely wasn't prepared for this

 

[sourland]

Great advice from @LaFleche . Too many cockerels/roosters can be a disaster. They are hormone driven and can injure/stress/kill pullets. Good luck in resolving this problem. Immediate separation will provide a temporary solution, but it sounds as if they are even trying to breed targeted males.

 

[FrostRanger]

Here's how I'd choose
1. Cull anyone who is human aggressive
2. Cull anyone over a year or so old who is a brute when mating or is otherwise a jerk with the hens (yours are just going through hormones so I'd give them another chance later on after their hormones calm down)
3. Cull anyone with any major health problems that are genetic
4. Rehome or cull anyone you don't like for whatever reason
5. Rehome or cull anyone the hens don't like for whatever reason
6. If you're stuck between 2 or more good ones and can't decide, pick whomever the girls like better 'cause they're the ones who have to live with him
7. Be prepared for none of them to work out 'cause roosters are a gamble and not all of them are winners
Based on this process, I'd cull the one that's attacking you right off the bat. From there, separate the boys from the girls and over the next year or however long go through all of them and see who, if anyone, makes the cut

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

My set-up is different from yours so I usually get different results. I don't know how much room you have in the coop or run but I have an 8' x 12' coop, two other shelters they can sleep in, and over 2,000 square feet outside. A big difference is that I have a mature rooster and several mature hens. The adults seem to help stabilize things. Most years I can raise cockerels and pullets with the flock without any serious issues, but every three or four years it does get bad enough that I need to do something.

You have two things going on. As they go through puberty the boys hormones are telling them to be the dominant chicken. So they fight the other boys, trying to become the boss. Sometimes it can be a fight to the death. Often the loser quickly decides it is best to run away and fight another day instead of continuing a hopeless fight. Sometimes they gang up on each other, maybe working together to kill the other one. Lots of different things can happen. The more room you have usually the better it is. But sometimes that does not matter that much.

The boys generally go through puberty earlier than the girls. The way they dominate the girls is to mate with them. Occasionally a pullet might willingly squat for a cockerel, I saw a 13-week-old pullet do that. But almost always they try to run away. The boys might let them go but usually chase them down and force them. That usually involves grabbing them by the back of the head. That head grab is instinctive. It is their way of telling the girl to raise her tail out of the way so he can hit the target. It is a necessary part of mating. But at that age the girl is resisting and it can be pretty violent. He can pull feathers out creating a bald spot or he can cut her head or comb with that grab. Chickens can become cannibals when they see blood. Can does not mean always, but it is dangerous.

Some years all of this isn't that bad. But some years the pullets go to extremes to avoid the boys. They may stay in the coop while the boys are outside. They may even stay on the roosts so the boys have more trouble getting to them. I have separate food and water stations so the girls can get food and water and still avoid the boys but some years it gets so bad that I separate the boys from the girls. It is called a bachelor's pad. If the boys don't have any girls to fight over they are often pretty peaceful. They will still know who is boss but those are typically not very vicious fights and they are soon living together pretty peacefully.

Typically the girls mature enough to start squatting for the boys about the time they start to lay. They don't resist so the boys aren't that violent toward them. Typically the boys mature enough that they get their hormones under control and start acting like a flock master, doing their jobs to take care of the flock instead of being a disruptive force. There is not set age for that. I had one cockerel manage that at five months, but most of mine take at least seven months. I had one that had not gotten there at 11 months. The girls' personality has a lot to do with that too. Some are ready to accept a male flock master but others are going to resist as long as they can. Each individual chicken has its own personality, male or female. Each flock can be quite different. Some individuals never mature.

Your initial plan was to eat the extra boys and only keep one or two. I consider that an excellent plan but you seem to be wavering. That's not unusual, the boys have a lot of personality and can grow on you. Try to resist that, too many boys can be very disruptive.

At 13 weeks those boys won't have much meat in them. You can still eat them, many people do at that age because of how they can be disruptive and dangerous toward the girls. You have a few realistic options.

Eat most of the boys now. Start off with the ones that are most disruptive or don't meet your goals for whatever reasons. That could be color, conformation, size, behaviors, whatever. As you thin them down the behaviors could improve.

Sell of give away most of your boys. You don't have to eat them yourself, you can let someone else eat them.

House them together but away from the girls. This could be temporary until you are ready to eat them or you can make it permanent. My goals do not include feeding and housing a bunch of roosters forever but some people can't force themselves to do it any other way. You can try leaving one boy with the girls and see how that works out before you eat the others but you might want to wait until the girls start laying and are more receptive to a male before you try that. That gives him a chance to mature some too.

Believe it or not this is the short version. You are dealing with living animals and a lot of different things can happen. Many people go through what you are all the time. You can get through this. Good luck.

 

[Julie-ChickenMom]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Glad you joined.

My set-up is different from yours so I usually get different results. I don't know how much room you have in the coop or run but I have an 8' x 12' coop, two other shelters they can sleep in, and over 2,000 square feet outside. A big difference is that I have a mature rooster and several mature hens. The adults seem to help stabilize things. Most years I can raise cockerels and pullets with the flock without any serious issues, but every three or four years it does get bad enough that I need to do something.

You have two things going on. As they go through puberty the boys hormones are telling them to be the dominant chicken. So they fight the other boys, trying to become the boss. Sometimes it can be a fight to the death. Often the loser quickly decides it is best to run away and fight another day instead of continuing a hopeless fight. Sometimes they gang up on each other, maybe working together to kill the other one. Lots of different things can happen. The more room you have usually the better it is. But sometimes that does not matter that much.

The boys generally go through puberty earlier than the girls. The way they dominate the girls is to mate with them. Occasionally a pullet might willingly squat for a cockerel, I saw a 13-week-old pullet do that. But almost always they try to run away. The boys might let them go but usually chase them down and force them. That usually involves grabbing them by the back of the head. That head grab is instinctive. It is their way of telling the girl to raise her tail out of the way so he can hit the target. It is a necessary part of mating. But at that age the girl is resisting and it can be pretty violent. He can pull feathers out creating a bald spot or he can cut her head or comb with that grab. Chickens can become cannibals when they see blood. Can does not mean always, but it is dangerous.

Some years all of this isn't that bad. But some years the pullets go to extremes to avoid the boys. They may stay in the coop while the boys are outside. They may even stay on the roosts so the boys have more trouble getting to them. I have separate food and water stations so the girls can get food and water and still avoid the boys but some years it gets so bad that I separate the boys from the girls. It is called a bachelor's pad. If the boys don't have any girls to fight over they are often pretty peaceful. They will still know who is boss but those are typically not very vicious fights and they are soon living together pretty peacefully.

Typically the girls mature enough to start squatting for the boys about the time they start to lay. They don't resist so the boys aren't that violent toward them. Typically the boys mature enough that they get their hormones under control and start acting like a flock master, doing their jobs to take care of the flock instead of being a disruptive force. There is not set age for that. I had one cockerel manage that at five months, but most of mine take at least seven months. I had one that had not gotten there at 11 months. The girls' personality has a lot to do with that too. Some are ready to accept a male flock master but others are going to resist as long as they can. Each individual chicken has its own personality, male or female. Each flock can be quite different. Some individuals never mature.

Your initial plan was to eat the extra boys and only keep one or two. I consider that an excellent plan but you seem to be wavering. That's not unusual, the boys have a lot of personality and can grow on you. Try to resist that, too many boys can be very disruptive.

At 13 weeks those boys won't have much meat in them. You can still eat them, many people do at that age because of how they can be disruptive and dangerous toward the girls. You have a few realistic options.

Eat most of the boys now. Start off with the ones that are most disruptive or don't meet your goals for whatever reasons. That could be color, conformation, size, behaviors, whatever. As you thin them down the behaviors could improve.

Sell of give away most of your boys. You don't have to eat them yourself, you can let someone else eat them.

House them together but away from the girls. This could be temporary until you are ready to eat them or you can make it permanent. My goals do not include feeding and housing a bunch of roosters forever but some people can't force themselves to do it any other way. You can try leaving one boy with the girls and see how that works out before you eat the others but you might want to wait until the girls start laying and are more receptive to a male before you try that. That gives him a chance to mature some too.

Believe it or not this is the short version. You are dealing with living animals and a lot of different things can happen. Many people go through what you are all the time. You can get through this. Good luck.

Thank you for the detailed response! Planning and doing are different things (butchering), but I do know I can't build a bachelor pad to keep 6 roos. I'll need to work up the courage to address the most aggressive.

Not the answers that I was hoping for, but critical to understand that boys can be that dangerous to the girls so my steps in separating them are necessary and I'll have to keep that up for now.

Thank you and everyone who has responded with very helpful information.

 

[Mrs. K]

Be prepared for none of them to work out 'cause roosters are a gamble and not all of them are winners

I have found and many others agree with me, that cockerels raised with pullets seldom work out. They just come into their oats, so to speak, months before the pullets are ready. They become bullies, they fight each other and a lot become human aggressive. Strongly consider letting them all go.

Pullets really should not be exposed to cockerels until they are laying eggs. One should not plan on hatching eggs until the pullet is a hen at 7+ months. Pullet eggs are just not big enough. Later if you want to hatch, roosters, NICE roosters are cheap or free and pretty easy to find. But know, when you hatch, at least 50% will be male.

If this is your first year, let all of them go. If you don't think you can eat them, don't feel bad, a lot of us struggled with the fact, as you said, it is one thing to plan, another to do. I would buy chicken and mix it up with my butchered chicken.

Or, you can plant a rosebush on top of them. Or just put them in the garbage, or let someone else feed their family.

One has to do something, I admire you in that you are doing that. You have a lot of tension in the flock, and it is always good to solve for peace in the flock. Put the males in one set up, and the females in the other setup. That will give you a chance to sort it out.

Mrs K