My two 6 week old roosters are sparring with each other.

[BlueEggsAndHens]

My 6 week old roosters are sparring with each other.
I'm getting rid of the other rooster next week but they only spar when they get let out of there pen in my house.. and the more dominate rooster I'm keeping and he keeps picking at the other 6 week old hens... It's not aggressive and not breaking skin but like a warning but again only out of there pen but after an hour he stops peeking them and sparring stops sparring with my other rooster

Should I be worried or is he just showing his domminance
thanks

 

[AGeese]

So this only happens when you free range? It sounds pretty normal, but you would want to make sure it's not causing undue stress because of the situation you're keeping them under.

 

[wrathsfarm]

I agree sounds normal pecking order, play, gearing up for dominance type stuff. As long as it's not relentless or drawing blood I let them go. Space to get away from each other and multiple feeders and waterers out of line of sight if one is guarding them helps.

 

[BlueEggsAndHens]

Yeah it's not like his guarding them or drawing blood.
Thanks I thought that was the Case but as a first time chicken owner I wanted to me sure

Thanks a lot

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You need to know that cockerels (male chickens under a year old) attain sexual maturity earlier than pullets (females less than a year). At around 4 months of age your young sir is going to have one thing on his mind, and the pullets won't want any part of it. He may chase them relentlessly, jump on them and try to force them into submission by grabbing their head feathers. He could terrorize or even injure them. Watch out for this and be prepared to keep him in separate quarters for a couple of months until the girls begin to lay. At that point, they'll be ready for him and things should calm down. (Things may or may not transpire as I've described. Just be aware that it could happen, and be ready. )

 

[wrathsfarm]

You need to know that cockerels (male chickens under a year old) attain sexual maturity earlier than pullets (females less than a year). At around 4 months of age your young sir is going to have one thing on his mind, and the pullets won't want any part of it. He may chase them relentlessly, jump on them and try to force them into submission by grabbing their head feathers. He could terrorize or even injure them. Watch out for this and be prepared to keep him in separate quarters for a couple of months until the girls begin to lay. At that point, they'll be ready for him and things should calm down. (Things may or may not transpire as I've described. Just be aware that it could happen, and be ready. )

Yes, this is a good point especially with multiple boys. I'm fortunate enough that my main roo doesn't allow the young boys to mate his girls in his presence, so I can keep them in the flock until 12-14 week range. By then tho, their getting feisty and Kong can't control them out free ranging so I need to separate them out until I can select thru for breeders.

A spare coop and run is a must have to isolate young cockerels in my opinion especially if you have multiples and no older hens to school the young guys and keep them from tag teaming and over mating.

I've isolated a single cockerel out during peak mating times but letting them out daily to free range together with the pullets/hens in the past under supervision with success. But never allow over mating and especially tag teaming is a solid NO.

Took this pic yesterday of my bachelor coop of 7 boys
There's 6 here.

Poppy my dominant cockerel of the group was chilling on the ducks door.

I've got 5 more boys... My 2 main roos and 3 that are 12 weeks old in with one of my main roosters coop I'll need to separate out soon.

 

[Mrs. K]

To Original Poster: I think a big part of this might be space. What was enough space for baby chicks, rapidly becomes not enough space for the rapidly growing birds.

At 6 weeks of age, chicks should be outside. They really need a lot of sunshine and fresh air. A lot of times, people with the best intentions of keeping them safe and warm, are actually keeping them in too small of areas and they are not getting enough exercise.

I may have misinterpreted your post, but space really is crucial for active healthy chicks.

Mrs K

 

[BlueEggsAndHens]

To Original Poster: I think a big part of this might be space. What was enough space for baby chicks, rapidly becomes not enough space for the rapidly growing birds.

At 6 weeks of age, chicks should be outside. They really need a lot of sunshine and fresh air. A lot of times, people with the best intentions of keeping them safe and warm, are actually keeping them in too small of areas and they are not getting enough exercise.

I may have misinterpreted your post, but space really is crucial for active healthy chicks.

Mrs K

I take it them outside under supervision all of the time.. because I know where they are currently is not enough space.. we are fixing their coop up this week and they will be able to go out...

Our backyard is pretty small so I will try and figure out if I can make a space for my rooster if he becomes dangerous to the other hens thanks a lot! Everyone

 

[Mrs. K]

Having a plan B or C and D for a rooster chick is a good idea. A lot of roosters do not work out. Some can be very dangerous to people, especially children and women. They attack them first. And how darling they are at this stage, 6 weeks to 14 weeks is the darling stage, is not an indicator that they are going to be a good rooster. They can also attack hens or other roosters.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree that space is critical for any flock of chickens whether all-girl or mixed sex, all the same age or mixed ages. As fast as young chicks like yours grow it is easy for them to outgrow their space. Each chicken has its own personality. Some are fairly calm and take close confinement well, others simply do not. Sometimes you can get one that is a natural bully.

I don't know for sure what is happening with yours but it sounds like they have outgrown their space. When you fix up their outside space make sure to give them plenty. If you go by the minimums you often see on here those generally work for mature chickens but chickens going through puberty often need more.

I raise cockerels with my flock every year and never know what I will see. I have adults with mine which has some effects, the way I read your post they are all the same age so I'll skip some scenarios.

If you have more than one male in your flock they will determine which is dominant. That may be a fight to the death, it may be a pretty peaceful event. Sometimes it is determined by brute force, sometimes it is more by intimidation. As they go through puberty this can change on a dime. I consider having a place you can immediately separate a cockerel to be a good thing.

What I typically see, if there is any violence, is that they fight for a bit and one decides it is better to run away than continue to fight. It is key that they have enough room to run away and get away. Otherwise the winner doesn't understand he won and continues to attack. That can lead to dead cockerels.

I'll explain my "if there is any violence" comment. I typically have 10 to 15 cockerels growing up with the flock until they reach butcher age, 16 to 23 weeks of age. A few will fight and determine which is boss. Most don't get involved, at least by the time I butcher them.

Sometimes the process of a cockerel becoming the flock master is really peaceful when all the others are female and the same age. Often it is not that peaceful. Typically a cockerel will want to mate with them and they are not willing. He is not trying to fertilize eggs, they aren't even laying, it is purely an act of dominance. Sometimes the girls (or some of them) are willing but often they are not. It is fairly rare with immature cockerels and immature pullets that the pullets fight back. It can happen if you have a pullet with a strong dominant personality (especially if the boy has a weak personality) but usually not.

What I typically see is that the girls either squat and submit or they run away. He may let them run away or he may chase them down and force them to mate. I've never had a pullet injured when they are forced but it can be violent, injury is possible. Sometimes the pullets hang with the cockerel and just handle the mating and running away. Sometimes the pullets avoid the cockerel. I have enough room they just stay far away outside, but people with limited space often see the pullets staying in the coop and often on the roost to avoid him.

Again, I have no idea what you will see. I encourage you to provide as much room as reasonable, I believe this gives you a better chance of having a success. While I always observe to try to avoid injury I mostly consider this as chickens being chickens and doing what comes naturally. Part of doing what comes naturally is having enough room so they can manage it.

Good luck!