7 Rooter and 4 hens - need advice on how to handle this

[chooki]

Also from my experience, 30 meters away, rooster crow is still fairly loud, even with walls and such. 150 meters away, you can still hear them crow, but it's almost nothing, like some soft background noise.

 

[McChooky]

My advise is keep a rooster to protect your flock and fertilize their eggs .Thats all you need. Some keep extra cockerels in bachelor pads because good homes are hard to come by. The problem is you'll run out of room for extra roosters when you raise baby chicks. You can raise the hens in one coop and roosters in another but the roosters can't protect the hens this way and can't fertilize their eggs .You can't add and remove a rooster and try to add him later.The hens may reject him.

 

[Acre4Me]

Releasing domestic chickens without shelter or food is no different than dumping them, it’s a shame the laws against animal abandonment are rarely enforced.

Not my style.

But, lots of people raise chickens this way, I think it’s called free range where they forage for bugs etc. a keeper interested in eggs, etc will likely provide supplemental pellets, but many keepers aren’t far off from what neighbor did. My spouse remembers the chickens they had in Deep South had a “shelter” but were not locked up at night. He does not remember any feed for the chickens…they foraged. He said this was common practice there.

 

[Acre4Me]

Oof
Oof. That all sounds… rough…

I’ve had better luck with older Roos and younger pullets/hens. When my hens are older they’re less receptive to the young stupid Roos, amorous, behavior. This has led to less wing dancing and more ambush breeding. The older Roos seem more polite with the younger girls.

As for just turning a flock out with the intention of them… going away… I’m pretty utilitarian as far as raising my own food, culling when necessary, etc. but that just seems a bit callous.

We’ve never brought in a rooster to the flock, so I do t have that experience, but I’m sure you are correct bc over the teen hormones.

Yes, callous, but the chickens entered the cycle of life….fed some other animals in the fall, heading into winter. Not my style, but not unique either.

 

[LaFleche]

5 Roosters together is no issue, I have a 5 roosters flock on the farm, they have bonded more deeply than my pullets/hens.

Here is a video of them dust bathing together:

Here is a video of them following me around:

Gorgeous running mates! ❤

 

[chooki]

Gorgeous running mates! ❤

It's all about showing leadership skills ..

They usually followed me more closely than the drone footage indicated as they were afraid of the drone.

 

[Eristas]

5 Roosters together is no issue, I have a 5 roosters flock on the farm, they have bonded more deeply than my pullets/hens.

Here is a video of them dust bathing together:

Here is a video of them following me around:

Aww so nice to see a bunch of roosters playing nice with each other! Everyone in my flock is behaving and being a lot calmer today, I don't know why. Haven't broken up the flock as yet but I am thinking of keeping one rooster and the 4 hens together when I do. That rooster is an outsider with the other boys and the girls seem very comfortable around him. I'm afraid if I left him with the other 6 boys he'd not have a good time at all. Besides he was always my nicest chicken, ever since a baby was the only one that wanted to get picked up and see the world lol. I think that having him with the girls will give me the calmest option and I won't have re-introduction issues down the line.

My air compressor arrived today so currently contemplating contruction of a batchelor pad on the other side of the property. My current coop has nest boxes and everything and I don't feel right moving the girls out of there as it is all setup for them and they are comfortable there.

I have a bunch of pallets, access to an infinite pile of free barn wood, and (now that my air compressor has arrived) all the tools I need to build another coop. It's just like 90 degrees out right now!

 

[McChooky]

Not my style.

But, lots of people raise chickens this way, I think it’s called free range where they forage for bugs etc. a keeper interested in eggs, etc will likely provide supplemental pellets, but many keepers aren’t far off from what neighbor did. My spouse remembers the chickens they had in Deep South had a “shelter” but were not locked up at night. He does not remember any feed for the chickens…they foraged. He said this was common practice there.

My neighbor tried raising chickens this way but lost them all.

 

[chooki]

Aww so nice to see a bunch of roosters playing nice with each other!

One possible reason is that there are people on the farm only half of the times, probably less. They are left alone 2-3 days at a time and having no one else but each other for companionship (with plenty of food and water and in a large coop).

Don't get me wrong, they fought before, to the point that I had to separate the two parties because they had blood all over their combs and beaks, that's when they were still at suburban home with the pullets and hens or has just arrived on the farm. They still mock fight all the times, but nothing serious anymore.

They are allowed to free range when someone is around on the farm and human presence deters predators in the area. That's why they are so clingy to people IMO.

 

[McChooky]

I have 2 cockerels that integrated 8 weeks (divided by wire from the flock)but they're too young to free range in an open fenced yard . They started harassing my pullets and have separate wire crates now .They'll be released in a few weeks but the pullets won't be released until they start laying.I need a plan for cockerels before letting my hens raise chicks .