Rooberty Rooster pecking order fighting

[UpstateChickenDaddy]

Ok. So Henry and Charles grew up in the same flock of nine. (It was not my intention to have two roos. Thank Cackle for that.) About a month ago I went out in the morning to find Charles had a bloodied neck. Not terrible but clear. I watched carefully. There have been no more bloody fights. Charles seems to now be in the submissive position despite his being bigger. He isn’t particularly depressed but I see him run away if Henry spots him eyeing a hen. Henry has been doing his thing with the hens for more than a month now. I am hoping the spring doesn’t make things worse but we’ll see. I have a separate area if needed.

My first question: It was honestly my intention to have Charles, and Henry was an unwanted addition. (But what to do now? I can’t just kill him. It isn’t in me.) If I do have to separate them, should I put Henry, the dominant roo, in timeout, or Charles? I could socially engineer the flock a bit that way but unsure whether it would really work. I tend to let them sort their own issues out but cannot allow bloody fights. Neither have been aggressive towards me but it is obvious when I am sitting with a hen (who comes over to me on her own by the way) Henry has a watchful eye on me and immediately comes over.

Second question: how do you get rid of a roo? No one wants them and I can’t kill them. Will vets put them down? If I remove him from the run our foxes would take him within a day but I certainly don’t want to encourage that behaviour. And I know some would ask why I have chickens if I am unwilling to kill them but I couldn’t kill my cats or turtles either and at 60 I seriously do not want my 50 year old turtles anymore but my 10 year old self made a commitment so there you go.

 

[FrostRanger]

Ok. So Henry and Charles grew up in the same flock of nine. (It was not my intention to have two roos. Thank Cackle for that.) About a month ago I went out in the morning to find Charles had a bloodied neck. Not terrible but clear. I watched carefully. There have been no more bloody fights. Charles seems to now be in the submissive position despite his being bigger. He isn’t particularly depressed but I see him run away if Henry spots him eyeing a hen. Henry has been doing his thing with the hens for more than a month now. I am hoping the spring doesn’t make things worse but we’ll see. I have a separate area if needed.

My first question: It was honestly my intention to have Charles, and Henry was an unwanted addition. (But what to do now? I can’t just kill him. It isn’t in me.) If I do have to separate them, should I put Henry, the dominant roo, in timeout, or Charles? I could socially engineer the flock a bit that way but unsure whether it would really work. I tend to let them sort their own issues out but cannot allow bloody fights. Neither have been aggressive towards me but it is obvious when I am sitting with a hen (who comes over to me on her own by the way) Henry has a watchful eye on me and immediately comes over.

Second question: how do you get rid of a roo? No one wants them and I can’t kill them. Will vets put them down? If I remove him from the run our foxes would take him within a day but I certainly don’t want to encourage that behaviour. And I know some would ask why I have chickens if I am unwilling to kill them but I couldn’t kill my cats or turtles either and at 60 I seriously do not want my 50 year old turtles anymore but my 10 year old self made a commitment so there you go.

Keep in mind if you remove one you may not be able to put him back again. If you won't process a bird yourself, you have a few options 1. Give one away to someone who wants a rooster for meat 2. See if there's a meat processor who can do it for you 3. See if a vet can do it. This is the most expensive option by far but many vets will put down a chicken for you even if they don't normally see poultry. I would remove one from the flock 'cauae 2 roosters is entirely too many for only 9 hens, never mind the fact that their relationship is tenuous and I think there is a fair chance of them fighting again

 

[UpstateChickenDaddy]

Keep in mind if you remove one you may not be able to put him back again. If you won't process a bird yourself, you have a few options 1. Give one away to someone who wants a rooster for meat 2. See if there's a meat processor who can do it for you 3. See if a vet can do it. This is the most expensive option by far but many vets will put down a chicken for you even if they don't normally see poultry. I would remove one from the flock 'cauae 2 roosters is entirely too many for only 9 hens, never mind the fact that their relationship is tenuous and I think there is a fair chance of them fighting again

That will likely be what I will have to do. Any additional fight and I will. I will cross my fingers but not hopeful. I didn’t know he was a roo until he was older and, yeah. I really wish these companies wouldn’t add in “free” chicks. It just creates problems.

 

[Mrs. K]

Contact your 4-H clubs, or poultry clubs or post an add in the feed store.

Thing is, I am betting there is a lot of tension in your flock, that you might not be aware of. Last summer, I was raising up two cockerels in an established multi-generational flock. They seemed to get along. But I had a neighbor that needed a rooster, so I gave her one.

Thing is, my whole flock seemed to relax. They doted on the one I kept.

Mrs K