should I cull roosters??

I'm not sure about fighting although I did have 2 roos that I kept together and they got along great. If you are only wanting a few or whatever instead of culling, maybe try selling them on craigslist.

See my other post...cull or sell or give away.Keep only how many you should or think your girls can handle. I myself had too many for a while....they didn't fight...but my hens went bald.I culled.Good luck with your choice.

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/632626/is-this-how-people-manage-their-flocks#post_8474597

Quote:

Originally Posted by indianawelsumm 

I have 11 hens and 5 roosters all welsummers. All were hatched late September. My question is should I cull some roosters. Will they start fighting when the breeding starts? I kept all of them so I could pick the ones with the best combs,looks ect. I havent notice any fighting but i think it has started up as two of them now have shorter tail feathers !!

You should cull, sell, or give away some roosters.

With 11 hens, you might be able to have two roosters if the roosters can get along. If the two roosters want to fight, you probably need to choose one rooster to keep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bullitt 

You should cull, sell, or give away some roosters.

 

With 11 hens, you might be able to have two roosters if the roosters can get along. If the two roosters want to fight, you probably need to choose one rooster to keep.

X 2 Cull 3 (culling is not necessarily 'killing' and can include selling, giving away, etc.).  Keep 1 as the flock rooster and keep the second as a back-up and to use on any pullets raised.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourland 

X 2 Cull 3 (culling is not necessarily 'killing' and can include selling, giving away, etc.).  Keep 1 as the flock rooster and keep the second as a back-up and to use on any pullets raised.

 

Thank you for correcting me. I looked up the word cull, and it just means to remove a breeding animal from a group based on certain criteria. I have been thinking that cull means to kill or butcher.

Would the second rooster be kept in a cage or would a second coop and run need to be built?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourland 

X 2 Cull 3 (culling is not necessarily 'killing' and can include selling, giving away, etc.).  Keep 1 as the flock rooster and keep the second as a back-up and to use on any pullets raised.

 

Oops...did not mean to sound like culling is only killing...sorry. I use the word cull personally at home to mean butcher.... 
 

Culling doesn't necessarily mean to Kill, but roosters you should be prepared to do so as generally roosters can be quite hard to get rid of.

2 will be fine with 11 hens as long as the have a decent run.... at night they'll call a truce and roost together....

I would go down to one rooster, for your 11 hens. Roosters eat as much if not more, than hens, why would you want to keep a spare? In a home hobby, I do not really think there is a great advantage to a spare. If you were breeding to produce chicks for sale, then perhaps, but you would need considerably more than 11 hens. If you hatch out chicks, you will get roosters, so if the one you pick, does not work out, well you can pick again.

I have 9 hens with one roo, and am getting good fertility rates, he keeps an eye out for predators, and his girls rounded up. That is what I need.

MrsK