1 to many rooster - Slaughter or keep?

[bobbi-j]

I currently have 1 mature rooster and two seven month old cockerels to my 33 hens. I didn’t plan it that way. I didn’t get the old hens butchered in the fall like I had planned, and my two hatchlings from October turned out to be boys. For right now, it’s working. BUT - I free range my chickens. They have plenty of room to spread out. I’m watching behaviors and looking for injuries. So far, nothing, but I have had chickens long enough to know that it could change in an instant. If (most likely) when it does, I will be thinning my herd of males. Mine will be rehomed to jars in my pantry.

 

[cassandrapettersson]

One of my roosters used to share a few hens, but was still mean to the other…

Mine were seperated into a group,
One rooster had 4 hens
The other had 4
Then there were 2 hens that would switch between the groups

 

[cassandrapettersson]

We sold one of the roosters : )

 

[Nomadicus]

We sold one of the roosters : )

Now you have one less mouth to feed and no fighting.

 

[cassandrapettersson]

Now you have one less mouth to feed and no fighting.

After we sold him we got 13 chicks, sooo but hey, no fighting atleast!

 

[cassandrapettersson]

We sold one of the roosters : )

He still lives on the same farm so i get to visit him sometimes

 

[cassandrapettersson]

Mine were seperated into a group,
One rooster had 4 hens
The other had 4
Then there were 2 hens that would switch between the groups

The current rooster we kept still doesn't want to touch the other 4 hens

 

[cassandrapettersson]

The current rooster we kept still doesn't want to touch the other 4 hens

He still doesn't want them,,,

 

[fluffycrow]

He still doesn't want them,,,

Weird. Which one did you end up keeping? You mentioned getting some other chicks, are they beginning to think about mating? I really doubt he has never touched them...

 

[cassandrapettersson]

Weird. Which one did you end up keeping? You mentioned getting some other chicks, are they beginning to think about mating? I really doubt he has never touched them...

I ended up keeping the Brahma which was the one that was constantly attacking the Polish/Paduan. The polish/paduan had his own group of girls which only stuck to him but once we got rid of him they got confused and mostly kept to themselves.

Current rooster loves the new chicks, we've seen him mount them a lot today... Guess he just hates paduans!