Please help me! Roosters who stays, who goes?????

[minihorse927]

First I want to say thank you so much for your response. It's so appreciated and really put me at ease and allowing me to breathe. Thank you for answering my questions and providing advice and direction.

I already know what roosters I would like to keep except it would be standards and bantams. But that still leaves me questioning will that work? Will my younger roosters learn from Anaconda?

My intent for my flock is more for the enjoyment of them and eggs. Not so much to breed them, maybe at one point I could. I would really need to educate myself and prepare first. That would be my only reasoning to rehome Anaconda one day because he's a cross mix and keeping Jr, Rosco (is show quality) and a silkie or two who are pure breds.

Mainly I want ones that will protect them, another reason why I'm questioning do they need training by watching and being around a mature rooster like Anaconda or is it something they're either born with or not?

Also, do I continue the separation of the ones I would like to keep? Is there a time period for this process? How do I reintroduce them again? I'd love to minimize the blood shed as possible.

Yes, we pretty much figured they were wrong about the coyotes, if they're desperate enough they'll get what they can and is available is what we were thinking. Exactly why I built my coop, I need to know my babes are safe.

you can keep bantams and large fowl together. I've done it for years. The only thing you chance is large rooster killing a bantam hen from trying to breed her. That is of course as long as they all get along together.

Your younger roosters will learn from the older ones. Plus older hens will thump young rowdy boys if they are being unruly. It will take time for the flock to reorder and reassign a pecking order. If they have not been separated for more than a couple days I would just add them back in the flock at night while everyone is roosting and it is dark. This way they just wake up together. I would continue to keep your boys you don't want separated and far away from the hens. They can not be able to see or hear the hens or they will continue to fight.

 

[krabed2007]

you can keep bantams and large fowl together. I've done it for years. The only thing you chance is large rooster killing a bantam hen from trying to breed her. That is of course as long as they all get along together.

Your younger roosters will learn from the older ones. Plus older hens will thump young rowdy boys if they are being unruly. It will take time for the flock to reorder and reassign a pecking order. If they have not been separated for more than a couple days I would just add them back in the flock at night while everyone is roosting and it is dark. This way they just wake up together. I would continue to keep your boys you don't want separated and far away from the hens. They can not be able to see or hear the hens or they will continue to fight.

The first day they were all together poor Rosco got challenged by them all I'm pretty sure. He did good at holding his own at first but they continued to challenge him even though he definitely submitted and walk away. They were chasing him around.
I read a post on here about rooster behaviors and when to intervene. It said there is 3 round but should end at round one in most cases. Give them 5-10 minutes unless it gets bad or someone submits and the other won't stop. To bring in the wounded for mending, food, water and rest the return them at coop up. That it takes a lot out of them to fight. So I followed that and gave Rosco tlc.

I worry for Rosco though adding back 5 roosters at once. What do you think?

What do you think about me just keeping Jr? I think he'll be one in the spring. He is quite a bit smaller then Anaconda and Little,his spurs are little nubs. That's why I considered holding onto Anaconda a bit longer to train the younger Roos.

Anaconda seems huge to us, he's very protective. He chases the barn and feral cats away from their area all the time. Some of them could definitely hurt him badly but the run from him and won't come close if he's around.

 

[krabed2007]

The first day they were all together poor Rosco got challenged by them all I'm pretty sure. He did good at holding his own at first but they continued to challenge him even though he definitely submitted and walk away. They were chasing him around.
I read a post on here about rooster behaviors and when to intervene. It said there is 3 round but should end at round one in most cases. Give them 5-10 minutes unless it gets bad or someone submits and the other won't stop. To bring in the wounded for mending, food, water and rest the return them at coop up. That it takes a lot out of them to fight. So I followed that and gave Rosco tlc.

I worry for Rosco though adding back 5 roosters at once. What do you think?

What do you think about me just keeping Jr? I think he'll be one in the spring. He is quite a bit smaller then Anaconda and Little,his spurs are little nubs. That's why I considered holding onto Anaconda a bit longer to train the younger Roos.

Anaconda seems huge to us, he's very protective. He chases the barn and feral cats away from their area all the time. Some of them could definitely hurt him badly but the run from him and won't come close if he's around.

Oh yes, when little first came and did that to my son had he been mine he wouldn't be breathing still. I knew nothing about roosters then and feel not much further now either, lol! I did ask my neighbor what to do about it and he replied that you kick them until they stop. That roosters are a**holes and will continue to attack unless you show them whose boss. Which I've heard from many people but I don't want to hurt them either.

I did start keeping him back with my foot but not kicking him just keeping distance been us.

The last time he came at me I had my back turned, he jumped up to attack me again but this time we made contact at the same time. His beck hit the tip of my boot. He's never tried attacking me again and I never turn my back on him either. Generally though he runs whenever I'm coming.

When it comes to my boys though he still acts that way at times unless I'm within a close distance. I told my boys to do the same thing to any of the roosters that are trying to hurt them and let me know right away. Any rooster that is trying to hurt us needs to be rehomed or whatever needs to happen but they can't stay here.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

You do not need to keep an older roo for the cockerels to learn from, it generally comes as an instinct.But,that is not saying the roosters will not watch and see how the older ones do things.
I remember when we had 4 cockerel and one grown rooster. The grown one hated three of them, BUT the specific orange cockerel he wasn't too hard on, I think that was a learning curve.

You only need about 4 roosters for that many hens, but just because you have lots of hens does not mean they will get along, is Anaconda a bantam? If he is and the younger boys realize size difference, they could take advantage, and either take his place, or straight up kill him.

I have had extremely worse than your case. I had a father and son problem, neither of them really got along, and the head roo would not allow any roos in his territory, roosters are very territorial.

He actually spurred his son in the eye, and at this point, our case got worse. The son was in exile and only had one part of the yard and occasionally his hatch mate came to him and spent time with him. He was in a hen drought, and literally had no real home, but some young roosters literally get ran off their own turf.

 

[Amina]

If your goals are primarily enjoyment, eggs, and protection, keep whichever roosters are good with you and your son, yet protective of the hens when there are predators around. You should immediately get rid of any that are aggressive toward humans, and then pick what you like best from the remainder.

The primary protective function of a rooster is to sound the alarm when predators are nearby, so that the hens all know to run to safety. Both full size and bantam roosters can do that job equally well, as long as they are watchful and concerned about their hens.

Occasionally you hear about a rooster trying to fend off a predator, but realistically a rooster is no match for most predators. If a rooster is forced to fight with a predator, usually what happens is he will buy the hens a little more time to get to safety while laying down his own life for the girls. A full size rooster may delay an attacking predator a bit longer than a bantam rooster.

Even less often you hear about a rooster successfully fending off the predator and coming out of it alive. This is probably not going to happen if the predator is a fox, but might happen if the predator is a hawk that's trying to attack a full-size hen on the ground (a hawk could just carry off a bantam hen and eat her elsewhere, but not a full-size hen). In this case, a full-size rooster would be much better equipped.

Cockerels don't need to be trained by full-grown roosters to know how to defend the flock. It is instinctive, and the protective instinct is something that tends to develop as the rooster matures. Some roosters are just better than others at it.

I would advise you to keep as few roosters as you can while still meeting your goals. It is possible for several roosters to get along with each other and with the hens, but the more roosters you have, the more likely you are to have problems which would interfere with your #1 goal, which is enjoying your flock.

 

[aart]

The last time he came at me I had my back turned, he jumped up to attack me again but this time we made contact at the same time. His beck hit the tip of my boot. He's never tried attacking me again and I never turn my back on him either. Generally though he runs whenever I'm coming.

When it comes to my boys though he still acts that way at times unless I'm within a close distance. I told my boys to do the same thing to any of the roosters that are trying to hurt them and let me know right away. Any rooster that is trying to hurt us needs to be rehomed or whatever needs to happen but they can't stay here.

Cock/erel behavior can have as much to do with human behaviors as it does the birds behaviors.
Your sons will need to learn how to behave around male birds as you have....
.....the delicate balance of cool, calm, confidence with some defense can be hard for younger humans to understand and employ.
Hard to quell the anxiety/fear we feel (that can set the birds off) once we've been attacked by a raging bag of feathers, beak, and claws.

 

[NysiaAnera]

You have been getting very good advice!

I also agree, keep your favorite roosters and get rid of the rest.

We also currently have 34 hens, and are now down to 3 roosters, and everyone is happy.

When we got most of ours as spring chicks last year, we ended up with 5 extra cockerels, so had 8 roos total. They all got along, but when they are young and hormonal they really stress out the ladies. Our poor rooster, Mo, was also being run ragged chasing them off when the girls would scream. Instead of the freezer, we ended up finding homes for 4 of them and the whole flock calmed down immediately. The 3 cockerels started breeding, and Mo just kept a group. Then we ended up sending Mo and 4 hens to a new home, and the balance (33 to 3) worked out great. We have hens brooding monthly, so we always have chicks, and the numbers change. But our flock is for meat and eggs, so that works out for us.

Your weather sounds just like ours recently, where do you live?

Also, smart of you not to believe the coyotes wouldn't come around! We have coyotes everywhere, and we live in farm/ranch country. We literally have cows all around us. The coyotes do kill and eat newborn calves. One of their favorite meals is actually the afterbirth. They also like any other animal they can get, including chickens. My brother has lost 4 huge turkeys and several chickens to coyotes in the last 2 months.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

The reason your cockrels probably got along was due to them being raised together from tiny chicks.Roosters from several different batches,and new ones bing brought in,really causes drama.

 

[Mrs. K]

More than likely you are not going to like my advice, and that is ok, they are your birds, and you can try different things with them.

I have kept a flock for a long time, but they are not all the same birds. I keep the flock, and different birds come and go into and out of the flock. I solve all problems for the flock.

Your flock is heavily stressed. This will cause loss of egg production and ugly behaviors. When the roosters are fighting, it upsets all the birds. All roosters are kind of a crapshoot, some are good, some are terrible and some are in between. To me, you need to be able to cull birds if you are going to try roosters. Not all roosters work out for the flock or for you. Many people on here are highly stressed trying to get along with a violent rooster. They feel guilty about the bird. That is an unreasonable punishment to the humans that have just tried to keep these birds. I would strongly recommend culling the bird that attacked your sons. If you think about it, roosters have a very small brain, they are not highly trainable, and once they begin attacking, they almost (as in your case) begin by attacking small children, then women and then men.

Many animal lovers go into chickens thinking that if they are kind and good to roosters, that they will get along with humans, like puppies and kittens that are well cared for. However, that is not true for roosters. Roosters that attack, have no or little fear of humans. They most generally keep trying. This is not a fun way to keep a flock. I bet your boys hate that rooster. Being unwarrantedly attacked is really a horrible feeling. Not trusting an animal in your care is not a good way of living.

Truthfully, if you culled all of the roosters, you would be much happier. So would your boys and your hens be happier. Once you get a little more experience, your boys get a little older, and a little bigger and more self confident, then try some roosters again. Telling a child not to be afraid of an animal that has attacked his face and to just be firm with the bird is a bit unreasonable. Keeping roosters so that you might try breeding them in the far distant future, does not make sense. Good roosters are easy to come by. In a year or two, contact the local poultry club, or feed store, and find some other people that raise chickens. Almost always there is someone that has a really good rooster, a gentleman that is so wonderful, they didn't cull him, even though they don't need him. That is the one you want.

Put all of these roosters for sale if you do not want them for your table. Don't ask what they are going to do with them. Let your flock calm down, and become enjoyable again. Let your boys enjoy this hobby with you again.

The predator protection that roosters offer, is limited, and certainly not against coyotes. I think the whole decision thing is stressing you out, and really you would be better if you were done with it.

If you don't want to do this, that is fine. It is your flock.

Mrs K

 

[krabed2007]

More than likely you are not going to like my advice, and that is ok, they are your birds, and you can try different things with them.

I have kept a flock for a long time, but they are not all the same birds. I keep the flock, and different birds come and go into and out of the flock. I solve all problems for the flock.

Your flock is heavily stressed. This will cause loss of egg production and ugly behaviors. When the roosters are fighting, it upsets all the birds. All roosters are kind of a crapshoot, some are good, some are terrible and some are in between. To me, you need to be able to cull birds if you are going to try roosters. Not all roosters work out for the flock or for you. Many people on here are highly stressed trying to get along with a violent rooster. They feel guilty about the bird. That is an unreasonable punishment to the humans that have just tried to keep these birds. I would strongly recommend culling the bird that attacked your sons. If you think about it, roosters have a very small brain, they are not highly trainable, and once they begin attacking, they almost (as in your case) begin by attacking small children, then women and then men. 

Many animal lovers go into chickens thinking that if they are kind and good to roosters, that they will get along with humans, like puppies and kittens that are well cared for. However, that is not true for roosters. Roosters that attack, have no or little fear of humans. They most generally keep trying. This is not a fun way to keep a flock. I bet your boys hate that rooster.  Being unwarrantedly attacked is really a horrible feeling. Not trusting an animal in your care is not a good way of living.

Truthfully, if you culled all of the roosters, you would be much happier. So would your boys and your hens be happier. Once you get a little more experience, your boys get a little older, and a little bigger and more self confident, then try some roosters again. Telling a child not to be afraid of an animal that has attacked his face and to just be firm with the bird is a bit unreasonable. Keeping roosters so that you might try breeding them in the far distant future, does not make sense. Good roosters are easy to come by. In a year or two, contact the local poultry club, or feed store, and find some other people that raise chickens. Almost always there is someone that has a really good rooster, a gentleman that is so wonderful, they didn't cull him, even though they don't need him. That is the one you want.

Put all of these roosters for sale if you do not want them for your table. Don't ask what they are going to do with them. Let your flock calm down, and become enjoyable again. Let your boys enjoy this hobby with you again. 

The predator protection that roosters offer, is limited, and certainly not against coyotes. I think the whole decision thing is stressing you out, and really you would be better if you were done with it.

If you don't want to do this, that is fine. It is your flock. 

Mrs K

No no, I completely welcome advice even the ugly truth. Thank you!

We took a vote of who wanted the first rooster to go everyone picked chicken little first except by daughter. She is the one that's having a hard time with it. I am simply not and neither are my boys.

Thank you for advice and sharing your experience and knowledge! It's helped me make a decision now. I'd rather rehome the older two first and see if that'll calm things down and go from there. I think Jr, Rosco and a couple silkies have great potential to being great roosters and if not well ....

Yes, I didn't know the other things, the ugly parts not just the fun that come with raising chickens but we're still learning and had our first experience when we did have to make a decision on a roosters fate after killing a few of our animals. Hardest thing ever, first time we've ever had to put an animal down over behavior not old age and health.

One lesson so far, don't get attached to roosters! And maybe only buy for sure hens, lol!