- May 13, 2010
- 49
- 1
- 32
I have 20 chicks that I will move out with the rest of my flock in about 2 or 3 weeks. The trouble is that I have a meanish rooster out there now. I have to take a shovel in when I feed because he doesn't often attack me but he does it randomly and I have to protect myself. The reason I tolerate him is that I've never had a flock last this long without being attacked by something and I feel like he must be a good protector.
The new batch includes 10 White Rocks that we intend to send to freezer camp. I'd been thinking of keeping one of them as my new rooster. The concern is that the mean rooster will kill these babies. They don't really go to bed when it's dark. They roost, but if I go in there to feed late they all come down to see me. So if I try to put them in at night I still don't think it will go well. Would you butcher the current rooster before putting the babies out? I hate to leave the flock vulnerable to predators while we wait for the babies to grow up into good roosters, but I'd hate it more if my rooster killed the chicks.
The new batch includes 10 White Rocks that we intend to send to freezer camp. I'd been thinking of keeping one of them as my new rooster. The concern is that the mean rooster will kill these babies. They don't really go to bed when it's dark. They roost, but if I go in there to feed late they all come down to see me. So if I try to put them in at night I still don't think it will go well. Would you butcher the current rooster before putting the babies out? I hate to leave the flock vulnerable to predators while we wait for the babies to grow up into good roosters, but I'd hate it more if my rooster killed the chicks.