New to roosters...

[NatJ]

Easy solution... Allow to breed. Incubate baby girl chickens.

There is no way to incubate chicken eggs and be sure of what gender chicks will hatch from them.

 

[kristine16]

There is no way to incubate chicken eggs and be sure of what gender chicks will hatch from them.

We definitely will not be letting eggs hatch. Culling is not something I’m capable of and as it stands now 16 chickens is more than enough for us.

 

[kristine16]

x2
About half of all chicks that hatch will turn out to be males, but sometimes a particular clutch will be mostly males or mostly females. It's really easy to end up with too many males if you are not willing to eat, sell, or rehome them.

We definitely do not want to hatch any eggs.

 

[Shadrach]

This is off-topic, but I noticed that at least some of your chickens are toppies. I like the toppy trait as well. I think it's cute.

What breed are your birds?

I always keep at least one rooster. Usually more than one. Roosters help organize the flock, help protect from predators, help get the girls up on the roost at night, etc.

Here are a couple of pictures of some of my toppies. They are mixed-breed.

View attachment 2412118View attachment 2412120

They're Bitsas; bits of this and bits of that.
Basically they're a cross between Marans and bantams with mixed genes.

 

[Mrs. K]

I very much believe how much room you have makes a big difference in behaviors. If they are crowded bad behaviors are magnified. That does not mean you will never see issues if they free range and have unlimited space, but those issues are usually not as bad.

Space and luck is what you need. I also think having a plan B set up and ready to go, if you need to separate them, having a place to put them immediately is good. Roosters can be darlings, but how they behave on Monday, is no predictor how they will behave on Tuesday, especially in that 3.5 month -12 month age.

Mrs K

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Great advice on this thread. A lot of it helped us this year when it became obvious we had a 1:4.5 ratio: 2 males and 9 females. I prepared for everything from separate accommodations to culling if absolutely necessary, though my approach is similar to yours when it comes to culling, especially with this first flock, raised by hand in a stressful time.

The cockerels are now about 6 and 9 months and are truly enjoyable to watch. I was on guard to separate when the younger male (an Easter Egger, which everyone says are mean boys) hit 15-16 weeks. The older one, a Light Brahma, was heck on wheels at that age. Luckily the little guy's a lamb, not a lion. From what I'm hearing, even brief separation can be permanent. The boys may not ever be able to come back together. If your life is easier with the whole flock together, you may want to focus on giving them as much space and exercise as possible instead. Make sure they have plenty of feed and water stations, some chicken toys, and fun spots to duck and hide from each other.

We have 3 coops in a 2,000'-sq-ft protected yard. Most days, they spend the day outside and choose where to roost at night. Usually the guys roost in separate coops with their age groups: 3 young pullets with the EE and 6 older pullets with the Light Brahma. I actually think that's because the big pullets are so bossy, not because the cockerels can't share space.

Some nights they mix it up. Last week, half the flock decided to sleep on 3' of roost bar. I was cracking up. They have 24' of roost bar to choose from. I checked to make sure there wasn't something itchy or sketchy in the other coops. Nope, they just decided this was the place to be.

You can see the big cockerel in the middle (I think he's bending the bar!) and the younger EE on the far right. The EE looks bigger in this photo, but that's phone-camera distortion. The Light Brahma is huge.

If the males roost together, I get up extra early to unlock doors because I know our big guy. He currently likes to "show out" (flapping, chasing, etc.) for 5-10 minutes after waking up. It's a peace-keeping measure to make sure he's not confined with the little cockerel during that time.

I bet your boys are beautiful. Those are cool breeds. If you've never had roosters, research will help you enjoy them. They see and add to the world differently than hens. @Shadrach articles and posts were a great primer for me. IMHO, roosters are the most interesting part of keeping chickens.