# Rooster fighting



## K_chickens (Sep 8, 2014)

Hello, I have 2 roosters and three hens. The roosters seemed to cohabitate well together with the polish rooster being dominant and the Rhode Island Red being fairly submissive. I came home from work tonight with a terrible racket coming from the coop. When I opened the door my dominate rooster was on top of my submissive rooster almost like he was trying to mate him, and pecking at his head. I kicked him off and separated them but it seems like both my submissive roosters legs seem to be broken. He wasn't bleeding anywhere. What could have brought on this random attack? The polish rooster definitely sensed something was wrong with him because every time I'd go to leave the coop he would start savagely attacking him again! I can still hear him crowing (it's 9 pm) and he was pacing around when I left. I'm worried e will randomly attack my other chickens. Any ideas? I know chickens kill each other when they sense one is injured but I'm worried the polish rooster did that to him. I'm assuming the injured rooster will have to be put down in the morning. No good cures for roosters with broken legs/back or whatever is wrong with him.


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

your hen to rooster #"s are way off sorry to say
come spring your 3 girls will be over breed 
you need more girls ASAP
roosters don't like to share but they may if there are a bunch of girls to choose from

good luck

piglett

ps: sounds like the submissive roo will need to be put down


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## chickflick (Sep 23, 2012)

Also, if you housed the rooster in a separate coop, where they don't see the hens, they may get along better. But, if they are with the hens, they are going to fight over them and who's top roo. Hope his legs are not broken. Keep them apart and see how the injured roo does in a couple of days.


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## profwirick (Jan 24, 2013)

wondering how this story ended.... I have one little bantam rooster and 8hens, various sizes. had considered another rooster, but maybe I had better stick to my rather mild mannered lil guy.


Sent from my iPad using Chicken Forum
Mary Wirick, aka. Treehouse, Profwirick, Ma Wirick???


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## chickflick (Sep 23, 2012)

The rule is 10 hens for 1 roo. I'd be nervous that if you got a standard size rooster, he might beat up on the bantam. I wish people would come back and let us know how things went after they ask for help.


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## hildar (Oct 3, 2013)

I try and keep 8 hens per rooster lately. I want to bring that number up to 10 by next fall. I think I have way to many roosters again, and I have boys in separate pens with a couple of girls in each. But they are not my breeding hens just regular laying hens for me to have my fresh eggs daily.


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## Aporia34 (Jun 26, 2012)

Here are a few rooster experience tidbits...

When our chickens were free range we had as many as 4 roosters peacefully coexist with just minor scuffles establishing the pecking order. The ratio was nowhere near 8:1 or 10:1. However, one night we had coyotes come through and take my favorite rooster and two hens... in 10 years here we have never had a coyote. Once we started penning them up at night the roosters started having issues so now we only have one. 

A while back we had several hens hide out and hatch large broods... 10-12 each. We ended up with a dozen roosters. These boys not only lived together peacefully into adulthood but gathered around a large water dish every night to roost. It was quite a sight... 

As a child we had 200+ chickens at our dairy farm. One Bantam ruled to roost. I was always sure that he did not know he was so small. Several times a random rooster from a neighboring farm would wander over and he would drive it away. I don't think that's very common though.


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