Advice for the abundance of my cockerels

[Mamalana]

Hi y'all.

So this year I got 19 chicks (hatched 5, bought 10 straight run, and purchased 4 pullets). Of of those chicks, aside from the purchased pullets, I got 2 pullets. Two. So, needless to say I have a lot of cockerels. I had 3 mature hens and then we moved onto a property that came with 32 mature mating hens and 1 rooster.

The boys have gone into puberty and the flock that was young males with a handful of pullets and 3 mature hens, has turned dark. The lower ranking cockerels have begun mounting the pullets (and the mature ones).

I have 2 coops with runs, but I am not sure if I should remove the hens and pullets and put them into the coop that consists of the other flock of 33. I don't have the time, energy, or money to build a 3rd coop.

Any advice is greatly welcomed.

 

[Ted Brown]

I would move the hens/pullets to the coop with 33. Early in my chicken career I left cockerels with my main flock; they started to fight and to gang up on pullets, I found a dead pullet one morning.

Of course, the coop/run should be able to accommodate the number of birds you have.

I am building a brooder/bachelor/isolation pole shed with cages. I hatch once per year in June, I will raise the males to 6 months and then harvest for the freezer.

 

[WoDia]

My suggestion would be to have all of your roosters/cockerels in one coop (if you plan to keep them), and place all hens in another. You can choose which rooster to put with the girls if you’re going to breed them. I have all of my boys in their own building (I keep and raise any males that I hatch), and it works well for me. If you don’t want to keep all of the roosters (and don’t want to cull them), you need to begin rehoming them.

 

[Mamalana]

That's what I was thinking too, to put the hens together. It'll just be hard on the little ones at first. But better than being gang rapped.

 

[Mamalana]

I have one pullet in particular that is a super sweet gentleman, but I can't put him in with the resident rooster (gamecock) that's in the other coop, unless I move him out to the bachelor coop. He fights and chases all the other males away, where as the rest of the males are in a flock together. I don't want the gentleman, names Randolph to get mean or get bullied by the gamecock.

 

[WoDia]

That's what I was thinking too, to put the hens together. It'll just be hard on the little ones at first. But better than being gang rapped.

If you’re worried about the little ones, perhaps you can temporarily place them into cages inside the coop (and the run during the day) until they are all used to each other. I just finished integrating my young Buff Orpingtons in the same way. I did that for a week and then let them out with the others. They’re still a little afraid, but they’re doing well.

 

[nuthatched]

Just to be clear, getting rid of them isn't an option?

 

[WoDia]

I have one pullet in particular that is a super sweet gentleman, but I can't put him in with the resident rooster (gamecock) that's in the other coop, unless I move him out to the bachelor coop. He fights and chases all the other males away, where as the rest of the males are in a flock together. I don't want the gentleman, names Randolph to get mean or get bullied by the gamecock.

Wow, you have a large number of hens! Maybe put Randolph with them. Then you can just let your cockerels and roosters work it out in their bachelor coop. Not everyone has an ideal situation, where a bachelor coop works. If you want to keep your best roosters for mating, then you could rehome the troublemakers.

 

[Geena]

but I can't put him in with the resident rooster (gamecock) that's in the other coop, unless I move him out to the bachelor coop.

Do NOT put the gamecock into the bachelor coop, that would result in a bloodbath.

Between this thread and your other one regarding the aggressive cockerel it seems as if you perhaps don't have a real clear plan for your birds. Do you eventually want one big flock or two separate flocks? Do you plan to keep a bachelor coop going or is that just until you get things sorted out? It's hard to figure out what to do when you're not really sure where you're headed.

Personally I would just keep two of the boys and remove the others- quickly. Anything else is probably just going to end up being a bunch of unnecessary drama.

 

[aart]

Between this thread and your other one regarding the aggressive cockerel it seems as if you perhaps don't have a real clear plan for your birds. Do you eventually want one big flock or two separate flocks? Do you plan to keep a bachelor coop going or is that just until you get things sorted out? It's hard to figure out what to do when you're not really sure where you're headed.

My thoughts exactly.