Truth needed

Ultimately it's going to be up to you whether you keep, sell/give away, or cull your rooster. I have 1 rooster right now, all were suppose to be pullets too. He's 4 1/2mos old, and for now he's safe because his behavior hasn't been too bad. I never wanted a rooster, so at some point he will be leaving whether I cull him or sell/give away. Mine are in a 4x8 and I want to expand it, but have to wait until I get more $$ (I have 7 in it right now, plan for 12 total). I don't like the idea of culling or even selling/giving away any of mine, but if I want to continue to have chickens it's something I'm going to have to accept so I've been working on that (not easy when you've raised them since day old).
 
Roosters actually make happier hens.. even if preds can't get in, generally a roo will get between hens/chicks n preds, and attempt to distract preds, or blind n maim (or kill in cases). They also keep peace and order amongst hens, as making sureall hens get feed n treats, and stop fighting amongst hens, n make places at roost, also calling in at night and calling out to greet great morns. sounding alarm calls etc. Nothing is pred proof with bears, lesser n least weasels n shrews (here east tn we have second to common shrew, that has venomous more over to cause paralysis while shrew eats). great horned owls pair at times, using a technique where one flushes hens up in frenzy while other goes n pops heads off through wire. only way to totally stop preds is electric netting/fencing, n inch hardware cloth all around including under. or a pair of good dogs (terriers best for prolly as many say nay want larger dogs like even perfect med collies), work best I've found, as seen preds get in even best pens.. where weasels hawks etc snakes and even bears, to our collies sheperds n terriers, are gifts from gods to torment n chase and devour if catch,leaving leftovers for chooks. our roo calls an alarm and dogs know some one or thing is here he doesn't know or like and he will keep distracted till dogs are on it.
 
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We donated two roosters to a local farm. Kept one. We chose him because he was the only one who went into the barn on his own every night. Gets along great with the goats.
I love hearing him cockadoodledoo
He hangs out with the hens albeit separated by fencing but he can walk perimeter. The goats and he patrol. We have a german shepherd that has helped me raise them all since baby chicks in our sunroom.
They have a 60 ft run 1 inch hardware 5.5ft high with 18 inches buried around perimeter.
I could've gone on a nice vacation with what we spent on fencing.
Everyone is happy.
They are still in their coop contained within the run but will be moving shortly to a horse stall wash room 15 X 12 in our barn that will have access to the run during the day and good weather during winter.
They are all happy.
Still waiting for our first eggs.
 
Quote: Yep. Mine almost got his neck wrung by my husband. He hasn't outgrown it, though. This spring he clawed his way through two layers of fence (not two fences, but up several feet of fence and then through two horizontal layers of stapled down fencing) to defile my new little pullets. Grrrrr. His name is Bad Boy (not kidding). His brother, Boy (as in Foghorn Leghorn's kid in Looney Tunes..."Now Boy, I say Boy") is better. His method when he was young was creepy (lurking in the bushes, checking out the girls...), but he seems much nicer. I keep him with Bad Boy to keep him company (and to keep him out of the stew pot. I don't think my husband can stand to see any bad behavior) When we lost three girls to a dog that got through their fence, I thought about putting Boy with them, but, I don't think it will work in our household.

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That only worked a few months with Bad Boy. I watched him claw his way up and over a 6 foot fence to get to the hens.

Perhaps because the first year's hens had no rooster, they freaked out when this rude upstart boy from Gen2 started "attacking" them. He would pounce, the hen would shriek, and the whole flock would stop in their tracks, then run to attack him and beat him off. They were so stressed that egg production fell.

All that said, the boys are SO FUNNY. I call them "Two Wild and Crazy Guys" a la Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd. I showed one of their skits to my daughter and she was laughing hysterically. I should officially name the boys Yortuk and Georg.

Every now and then Bad Boy does a bit of "the dance" at me, but I give him a little "poke" with my finger and try to pet him, and he runs inside the coop. :)
 
We ordered chicks for the first time and received 3day olds on May 12.
Ordered all females and out of 15 sent pretty sure only one is rooster. (Possibly there is a less vocal at this point second because before I open their door in the morning I hear two distinct voices. One for sure continues to crow through the day and I can easily identify him. I never hear that second voice all day once they are out.
Dilemma. I do not want baby chicks.
Our cope and run is set up in a way that eggs should be easily retrieved throughout the day.
Our run is 60+ft X 10ft the coop is 4X6 with 4 nesting boxes.

15 was the minimum we could order. I only wanted 8. That seemed like a nice manageable number for a newbie. Everyone said a few will likely die. None did, of course I mothered and indulged them all. They are all beautiful, happy and healthy now at 12 weeks I can't bear to let any go. (We have a farmer lady that has hens and said she'll take whatever I don't want)

We are on a small 28 acre farm. We have three fainting goats and a beautiful barn. The coop and run were placed in what you would call a coral area for horses that shares the opening to the barn.
Do I pull the rooster out and let him free range?
Won't he miss his buddies that he's been raised with terrible if separated by fence?
Won't that cause tremendous anxiety?

He is not aggressive (yet) he is the only one that will not eat out of my hands. He waits for me to sprinkle his treats. He runs from us if we try to pick him up. He is just so proud when he crows. It breaks my heart to think of separating him.
No sign of Spurs, not even a nub. But he is only about 12 weeks.

He is not needed for protection of the flock. The run is completely enclosed with a perimeter of fencing buried 15 inches out from the border on all sides. I know never say never but trust me my husband did a great job.

Is 4 nesting boxes enough for the remaining 14 hens?
Again, I don't think I could give these girls away to reduce my numbers because they will not have the indulgences they have here and appreciate.

Thank you for listening and I appreciate your feedback

Chickens are not like cats that need to be spayed or they will be having litters 3 times a year. This is really a non issue. Eat the eggs. Isn't that one of the perks of having chickens? Roosters balance the flock dynamics and help protect the hens. I love my roosters. I enjoy their crowing and the seriousness they show when doing what roosters are meant to do.
 
We ordered chicks for the first time and received 3day olds on May 12.
Ordered all females and out of 15 sent pretty sure only one is rooster. (Possibly there is a less vocal at this point second because before I open their door in the morning I hear two distinct voices. One for sure continues to crow through the day and I can easily identify him. I never hear that second voice all day once they are out.
Dilemma. I do not want baby chicks.
Our cope and run is set up in a way that eggs should be easily retrieved throughout the day.
Our run is 60+ft X 10ft the coop is 4X6 with 4 nesting boxes.

15 was the minimum we could order. I only wanted 8. That seemed like a nice manageable number for a newbie. Everyone said a few will likely die. None did, of course I mothered and indulged them all. They are all beautiful, happy and healthy now at 12 weeks I can't bear to let any go. (We have a farmer lady that has hens and said she'll take whatever I don't want)

We are on a small 28 acre farm. We have three fainting goats and a beautiful barn. The coop and run were placed in what you would call a coral area for horses that shares the opening to the barn.
Do I pull the rooster out and let him free range?
Won't he miss his buddies that he's been raised with terrible if separated by fence?
Won't that cause tremendous anxiety?

He is not aggressive (yet) he is the only one that will not eat out of my hands. He waits for me to sprinkle his treats. He runs from us if we try to pick him up. He is just so proud when he crows. It breaks my heart to think of separating him.
No sign of Spurs, not even a nub. But he is only about 12 weeks.

He is not needed for protection of the flock. The run is completely enclosed with a perimeter of fencing buried 15 inches out from the border on all sides. I know never say never but trust me my husband did a great job.

Is 4 nesting boxes enough for the remaining 14 hens?
Again, I don't think I could give these girls away to reduce my numbers because they will not have the indulgences they have here and appreciate.

Thank you for listening and I appreciate your feedback
If you don't want the rooster don't keep him, or let him grow and then cull him for food for your family. I didn't want a rooster, but I have 1. He mates with my hens, but it's not an issue. You stick the eggs in the fridge and nothing develops in them. I enjoy my rooster though, and he's a great protector of the flock. I have hawks/owls and other predators around he's alerted me to.

I have 10 hens and 1 rooster right now (I plan to add a few more hens). I have 8 nesting bins/baskets in mine right now, and it's working, but when I only had a couple in there they were trying to get into them at the same time (even though they weren't laying yet), and I wanted them to have their space. The 4 that ARE laying all lay in the same bin, but not at the same time now. It's actually kind of funny/cute. The others who aren't laying yet seem to like to check out the other bins. I have found some eggs in the other bins/baskets (and even a couple on the top nesting shelf), but not as often as they do in the one bin.
 
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