Even though there may seem quite sever loss of blood
due to the appearance of the bloodied feathers, injuries are rarely
fatal. In long fights both combatants may be so weary it takes
all their effort just to hold onto the others wattle. It is best
not to allow birds to fight but where roosters are kept together
or one gets into a pen with another the inevitable will occur.
If a fight does occur usually all that is necessary is to separate
birds, clean up faces and make sure they do not get access to
each other again. After the birds have rested they start to get
back to normal but if the bird is temporarily blinded due to swelling,
helping with food and drink maybe necessary until swelling subsides
enough to enable the bird to see again. If a Pekin bantam fights
with another breed of bird, even a part Pekin, it will usually
come off second best and in the case of a more nimble bird and
there is no escape it can be killed or seriously injured. When
one wins, one looses. The victor will make the losers life very
unpleasant.
On the law of averages when hatching chickens one
tends to get 50% roosters and 50% hens. With Murphy’s Law
(if something can go wrong it will) one gets more roosters than
hens, both ways it is too many roosters. Cockerels can be run
together up until a certain stage and then it becomes easier to
separate them. If the hens are kept out of site they can be kept
together for longer. One doesn’t usually separate a flock
of cockerels because they are fighting but because of the tendency
to try and mate each other which causes stress within the flock.
These three cockerels in the fore ground will
soon need separating.
They should already be separated from their sisters, especially
if they are confined in a limited space.
If one needs to keep a number of roosters it may
be necessary to keep them in batteries of cages similar to those
seen at shows but the size that is used to hold the very large
fowl if confinement is for the long term. These cages should be
situated in a place that considers all their physical needs like
cool, warm, free of dust and free from draft. It is best that
they can observe what is going on amongst the other fowl so they
do not become bored and neglected. They must be checked regularly
so that spurs and toenails do not over grow, that faecal material
does not collect around their vents, feet and other feathers.
Parasites must be controlled and attention paid to nutrition especially
if they do not receive sunlight, which is important in producing
vitamin D.
This breeder has his roosters
confined to small pens but they can still see what is going
on around them.
This gives them interest in life and a feeling of responsibility
where they keep watch.
These solitary confined roosters should have plenty
of wood shavings, which are topped up and changed regularly. Food
and water should be in a situation where they are not filled with
debris from the activity of the bird or surrounding pens. These
containers can be situated on the outside of the pen, somewhat
elevated above the cage floor. Access must be easy through a hole
at the front of the cage and ensuring room for his large comb.
Other options for a small number of roosters are
to pen them singly with a hen or two. Once they have been together
for a couple of weeks the hens usually will stay with that rooster.
If free ranging groups like this, ensure that it is not necessary
for the hens to have to enter another rooster’s territory
in search of food, nests shelter or such as this will cause tension
and fights, which may also end in the hen changing roosters.
Roosters are kept with their hens in separate
cages and allowed out on separate days or times of the day.
Care must be taken that they do not fight through the wire.
Birds can be encouraged to maintain territories
with free range without fences and without them interfering with
each other. This requires skill and patience of the owner and
constant vigilance. Birds should have their own pens for a start,
where they can be locked up and return to sleep, nest and feed.
The previous paragraph must be adhered to. Distance must be maintained
between pens and preferably they cannot see each other due to
shrubbery and/ or buildings. Birds should never be encouraged
to encroach on another’s territory hence all their needs
should be close to their pen, this includes shelter. Birds should
be ranged on alternate days to begin with. A rooster without hens
will never comply, ever. Do not feed one group in sight of another,
as they will all come running. If at first you don’t succeed
try again, although some times one may end up ranging birds on
alternate days or different times of the day. If all of a roosters
hens are broody or he hasn’t a laying hen and there is one
in the other flock he will try to get her.
Some other hints to keep birds in territories. The
three-hen number is a good number for a rooster to look after,
too many and he cannot keep them together, too few and he will
seek out others. Try keeping and rearing the same colour together
as a rooster finds the most desirable hens are those that are
the same colour as the mother that reared him and the group he
was reared with. Hence one can have a flock of buffs and a flock
of blacks and so on. But again this requires skill of the breeder
to manipulate the bird’s behaviour.
If one really wants to keep two roosters together
one bird must be subordinate. Allowing a chicken rooster to grow
up with the adult does this. However just separating them for
a day or the older becoming unwell, or the younger becoming sick
of being dominated, may cause sudden fighting. Keeping mixed flocks
of roosters and hens is not a good idea as stresses occur and
stress opens up access to illness or illnesses becoming worse.
It is stressful for a rooster to have to be constantly defending
his hens. It is stressful for a hen to be constantly mated or
attempted matings by lurking roosters. In this case fertility
can also suffer. One cannot expect minimum stress when birds cannot
peacefully settle down at night with only the normal expected
squabbling for perch room, nor when the main rooster is chasing
others off or roosters are dragging hens off the perch or mating
broody hens sitting on the nest.
It is best to keep two to three hens per rooster,
the larger number if the rooster is young and vigorous. An over
vigorous rooster can make one hen miserable and you will notice
feathers missing on top of her head or the hen becoming stressed.
Other reasons other than a roosters possible youth making him
like over zealous with mating hens could be that he is not mating
satisfactorily and one or both birds may need to be trimmed more,
even if you do not want fertile eggs it will make life easier
for all concerned.
Do not keep Pekin hens with larger breed full sized
roosters like a Rhode Island Red or such as she could be seriously
injured or killed due to the fact they are still the same species
and they are just as attracted to each other. It is okay to keep
a Pekin rooster with larger varieties of hens and amazingly they
will sometimes produce fertile eggs. Other large birds such as
turkeys, peacocks and so on can also be aggressive to Pekins causing
stress, injury and death.
Roosters will always try their luck trying to get
another hen. The above requires skill, patience, constant observation
and the knowledge as to whether everything is fine or whether
one needs to interfere. Running more than one rooster or the flock
territory method does not ensure knowledge of paternity of ones
chickens, not only because of the ability for a rooster to mate
with his neighbours wives but because ones best birds may not
be adequately trimmed thus the lessor quality bird or the ones
that are trimmed better will father or mother the chickens.
Roosters will crow and you cannot stop them. The
predawn chorus can be very noisy if you have more than one rooster.
The only thing one can really do is muffle the noise at night.
Daytime noise tends to blend in with the general noises around
and appears to be less offensive to those who are intolerant to
them. Those poultry keepers who have the finances, maybe a specially
designed soundproof house for the roosters. For those of us not
so fortunate there are ways. Putting a bird in a cardboard box
every evening ensuring there are ventilation holes and then putting
the box in another sound reducing area over night and releasing
them first thing in the morning. This area can be a house or shed.
An old car is also good ensuring the windows are only partially
wound up. It is very important to remember ventilation, and cars
can get very hot very quickly. It is also important not to forget
the bird for not only is it necessary to take extreme care with
ventilation and extreme temperatures it is important not to forget
the bird as it is very risky locking an animal away without food
or water, the result can be a very cruel death. Never leave this
job up to a child.
No, these roosters are not off for a drive.
They are put in the car at night, which muffles the volume
of the crowing.
Roosters do not take long to get used to this form
of care and will learn to expect it, becoming very agitated if
you forget him. It can mean the difference between owning a rooster
or not as in many places one call of complaint to the local authorities
by a neighbour can mean the enforced disposal of the rooster.
This can be very upsetting as not only would the lack of a rooster
spell the end of breeding ones own birds, but many people become
very attached to these charming little chaps.
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