stupid roosters..

o.k i am having issues here with the boys of the farm, i have 2 black copper marans one silver cuckoo maran and one silver laced cochin. now i have been rotating everyone with the girls every couple days pain in the arse yes...but they are all to mean to the girls to keep them in there full time, now problem is i take 2 roos out a day put them back in at night or next morning back with the boys...well the fighting begins again...my poor cochin rooster get raped by the marans .. i dont know what to do with everyone they are beating the crap out of each other, they are in seperate coop from the girls and they still fight, i am trying the conjual visits to prevent wear/tear on the girls.... i dont have the room to seperate every individual rooster...i am at wits end here.. any suggestinns would be great right now i feel like putting them all in the soup pot!

Maybe you have to think about cutting back to one or two breeds until you get some more housing built . Increase the amount of hens to equal out two coops though.
As far as the roosters fighting, I would keep them separate from the hens all together! Keep one rooster with the hens all the time and keep the other ones completely away. My thoughts on this are, when each roo comes back out from being with the girls, he is all pumped up and in the breeding mind frame. He doesn't understand that you are trying to be fare. Each rooster can't just turn on and off the testosterone like it is light switch!!!

I think the problem is the rotation. Once your roos have their place in the flock figured out you pull them out and send in someone new who has to work doubly hard to make sure it is his semen that is making the chicks. Finally they get settled and a new rotation happens.

Either keep them all together full time and let things setlle out or pull all the roos and house them separately.

Another problem in Cochins tend to be pacifists while the others are more aggressive.

Sue

Yep, stop the rotations because they have to re-establish the pecking order every tie you do.

I highly reccomend a turkey hen for your boy. A girl about 2 years old is perfect. She will make those boys behave.

From TripleJ's posts before I think she is incubating right now, so obviously rotation is necessary. I am guessing she has her hens all in different pens for breeding and is simply putting their spacific roosters in as needed. What I would do Triple J is take all the roosters out and in the same time. So put the roosters in with their hens for a day or two, then take them all out and put them back in the rooster pen. Hens can keep fertile for over 2 weeks. By rotating them out one or two at a time then they will have more issues for sure, but maybe by the all in all out approach it would be ok.
I am surprised your cochin roo is too aggressive, usually they are well behaved boys with their hens. I never put them with other roosters, it is just asking for trouble, they are just not aggressive enough.

If you have separate pens for your girls bcause you are breeding, why not just leave the roos in with them? What is your roo/hen ratio?

Sue

o.k yes i am breeding right now, i have seperate pens for the hens...now the reason for seperating the roosters from the hens sometimes is they are to agressive with the girls hidden river i will try that, i just want to save the girls from going bald from these boys the marans are horrible they breeding the girls every 2 minutes...constant i have 11 hens for the 2 bcm, 3 hens for the silver cuckoo marans and 4 hens for the cochin, and 2 hens for the bantam cochin i have enuff pens the seperate into breeding pens but not enuff pens for that PLUS seperating ALL the rooster all the time. thats my delema

the cochin rooster is alright but he chases them and pulls their fethers sometimes...ALL my roosters are jerks....i will have a new rotation for next year as i am not going to put up with them...but i need Them for this breeding season unfortunatly

Get Carman to send you some of those chicken saddles Jean makes. I have found that a roo with enough hens will settle down after a week or two once he feels comfortable with his flock. Chickens sure don't like change and the best way to get a roo to breed like crazy is to deprive him from his girls.

Sue

I totally agree with Sue,....as much as It kills me to. Roosters need to feel secure with their girls. I think that your ratio is good but I would stop moving them around.

Dan, you just love to poke me, don't you!

Just let them roosters do their thang! Imagine your frustration if your problem was the opposite! You would be out there with sexy hen pictures, talking dirty to them, trying to get their libido up. Youare lucky to have such dedicated boys mid winter!

Sue

Schipperkesue wrote:Get Carman to send you some of those chicken saddles Jean makes. I have found that a roo with enough hens will settle down after a week or two once he feels comfortable with his flock. Chickens sure don't like change and the best way to get a roo to breed like crazy is to deprive him from his girls.

Sue

Just send me a PM or e-mail if you would like some saddles. I will be in town today if you like.

I'm thinking TripleJ makes saddles, too. She sent me a few a while back and they are great

Try keeping them all together, might just have a hen or two who will take a little longer to get used to the roo's. If they don't behave themselves maybe one roo would be better for your girls? I have 12 hens - 2 roo's in my black copper pen and they are doing really well so far....