Which rooster should we get rid of?

[cocoloco]

I joined the group and posted on May 31st about my original problem - we rescued 8 chickens from friends who couldn't
keep them only to find out they are Cornish Rock Cross - meat birds. It is now a month later - the birds are 14 weeks old, the 2 roosters are BIG. The photo below was taken 3 weeks ago - One on the right is big and round - the one on the left is the alpha - big and aggressive toward the hens and other rooster. He is fine with us - not aggressive, but does not let us touch him. We do not need the roosters, we are not breeding, we are hoping for eggs and even that is slim given that our hens are meat birds. We have a chance to get rid of one tomorrow - a friend is visiting who is a chef - he said he would take a rooster. The hens are afraid of both - they will no longer go willingly into the coop at night, BUT...they will sit around the alpha while free ranging. Round boy is not allowed near them by the other. Round boy will let us pat him - as a result, we like him and are leaning toward getting rid of mean boy. . We are new bird owners, we know nothing about chickens...what will it do to the group to lose the dominant rooster they have known since birth. Does it even matter? My friends laugh and say I am over thinking this - they haven't seen the bloody necks on my hens! I put the big one in a separate coop last night - the other rooster, usually docile in the presence of the alpha, immediately started to mate with the hens, he was tearing feathers out of them - they all ran out of the coop and it took me forever to find them and round them up. At this point, I am ready to get rid of both! By the way, I did not have these when they were small. Does holding them a lot when they are chicks make them more tame and docile as adults?

 

[sourland]

I think that you have solved your dilemma. Send both with the chef. It's only a matter of time before they start having physical problems. Eventually the hens will also probably have similar physical problems. Why not make their time alive a little happier.?

 

[ccrow]

I don't have meat birds, but have some experience with the rooster dilemma! Three times now, I've gotten 6 'sexed' chicks from the LFS and have ended up with 5 pullets, 1 cockerel. The first, a golden laced wyandotte(now 4yo), is occasionally nasty, but is very good with the girls, very protective. The second one, a black Australorp, was ok till this spring when he reached 1year old- he became very hard on the hens and would attack the older roo but only from behind; he would run away from any confrontation. He never gave any indication of protecting the hens, only jumping on them whenever he thought he could get away with it. He has since gone to 'freezer camp', lol. Now I have a 16 week RIR cockerel who has already bitten me, postured at me, etc... shown every sign he can that he will be a mean bird. He will shortly be history also. You could get rid of both roos and your hens would likely breathe a huge sigh of relief! DH and I couldn't believe how much more peaceful everything is since the black roo is gone... there was constant stress, running around chasing each other, etc. If you just want eggs, dump those roos, they won't be missed!!

 

[Folly's place]

These birds won't be able to have 'normal' lives, because of their genetics. Both cockrels need to go ASAP, because of their behavior, and lack of prospects of any kind of longer life. Be kind and move them on now, to prevent suffering. The pullets are also very unlikely to have longer comfortable lives, so you need to have a plan for them with the chef pretty soon. I'm sorry, but that's what our consumer wants; a cheap, insanely fast growing, in the freezer at eight weeks of age broiler chicken. Commercial production at it's worst from an animal welfare standpoint, IMO. Sorry, No more preaching. Mary

 

[ShanandGem]

I ended up with 2 CX cockerels in almost exactly the same way. They are big and stupid and so aggressive with other birds I have to keep them in a tractor by themselves. If you don't have the facilities to house them separately from the hens you'll have to send them packing.
Mine will be shipped off to freezer camp as soon as they're big enough. In the meantime they are living a happy chicken life on green grass, making weird honking noises and attacking each other almost hourly. They never do any damage but they are very different from any of my other birds, and not terribly likable.