Roberta, how many roosters do you have and how many hens? I remember my first year with chickens something similar happened with my two roos. We made the hard decision to cull one. I've never had more than one rooster for our small backyard flock since and don't think I ever will again.

We have 70 chickens of which 6 are roosters. They free range and up till this spring, have always gotten along fine. I think it must be a hormonal thing related to springtime. With any group of hens anywhere on the property, there is always a rooster watching out for them. I don't think one would be enough and I wonder if there were fewer, if the girls wouldn't wander so far.

I like the fact that they don't all stay in one area. (I want them fertilizing everything.)

You've heard of cocks fights, yes? Roosters will fight, it's their natural behavior. You do have a good ratio of males to females, and presumably plenty of room in which to keep those numbers, but 6 roosters together is still a lot to ask. Some breeds are more game than others, and there will be differences in temperament among individuals, but they're still doing what comes naturally. This time of year the increased daylight causes hormone levels to increase in both sexes in preparation for breeding, and any young birds from last year that have not been fully mature and so got along well, are now adults and starting to challenge the others.

It's not unheard of for several cocks to be kept together under optimal conditions and get along well, but it's usually the breeds and individuals which are naturally relatively calm and lacking in game temperament. There will still be a pecking order, but once it's worked out and they accept each other's place, it can work well.

I would start by determining which breeds you have which are normally not so agressive, and weed out the others one at a time. Give it a few weeks for them to work out the new order, and if they still don't get along, continue until it seems to work out. Keep in mind that if you have all breeds which tend to be gamey, or if the one in which you have to keep has a high drive, your final solution may be to only keep one, although most production breeds should at least allow a few males to tolerate each other with the size flock which you have. Good luck.

If it's spring hormones (and with your good rstio of hens/rooster and the free-ranging, that seems likely) then perhaps they will settle down in a bit. The rooster that got beat up will likely keep a low profile at least for a while. Was it just two of the six that were fighting?

This is very helpful and I appreciate your responses! The two fighters are both New Hampshire Reds. The 'top roo' was challenged by the second in command from what we can see, and the top guy is the one who is very injured now and displaced. He is staying away from the group today but looks like he is healing. At least he can walk normally now.

Those were the only two that were fighting but today we are seeing our largest rooster, "Rubin" who is a Americana being threatened by "Blackie" a Black Astrolorp. Also, there is "Murphy" who is the smallest of the roosters and he seems determined to make a place for himself also. So far though, these others are just standing down and posturing. The 'fighting for keeps' thing is what bothers me.

Yes, it is governed somewhat by hormones, but if you were to wait for it to blow over, you're talking sometime in the fall. They're just coming into breeding condition now, and it will be some months before it slows down. I'm guessing that you don't want to wait that long.

To make a broad generalization, the breeds you quote are by and large not those that would first come to mind as being extremely gamey or difficult to integrate. But you are having the problem nonetheless, so I would consider starting to remove one at a time and see how it goes. Don't remove the top boss, unless he's one that you really want to go, or it will be real chaos when the others try to sort it out. The bottom guy being removed probably won't solve much, as the others are used to dominating him, and they'll still be working on their current battles. You might want to look at removing someone in the middle of the order, someone who's trying to move up and make a name for himself. If you were going to keep only two, I would suggest the top guy and the bottom guy. Those two should already have their relationship worked out. Good luck.

There has been some 'standing down' with the other roosters, but nothing that looks like fighting. The injured rooster is looking better now but the other roosters won't let him near the flock. Some of his hens will stay with him though. At night, the other roosters all take turns to keep him from going into one of the coops for the night.

Since the weather was so cold, they all got used to roosting in the larger coop and only use the smaller one during the day to lay eggs in. So, poor "Foreman" sneaks into that coop once all the chickens are inside. We then close up both coops.

Do you think they will eventually let him back into the group? Must be hard for him to go from being on top to being kicked to the bottom of the pecking order!