Age to have enough pullets for cockerels?

[NNations]

We will be making a "bachelor pad" this weekend for our boys and we will just alternate free ranging days between them and the girls until they have made the swap from cockerel to rooster. That'll also allow more time for us to watch how their personalities form but I do agree that our OEGB will be a very good Roo and definitely a keeper at this point. We will be adding more pullets too. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experiences with me! You have all been very helpful.

 

[song of joy]

Thank you, how big is your grow-out pen. We are definitely doing some planning now for that. We are keeping the roosters for a few reasons my whole family has fallen in love with them for one but I also like the idea of having them for protection for the hens against predators. We will probably go ahead and try to find a home for one and that way it's down to 2. They all have their good qualities and no bad ones so far so this is gonna be a hard decision.

The grow-out pen includes a 3 x 5' coop and 50 x 50' fenced yard. The coop is on the small side, but has worked OK for isolating up to 6 or 8 cockerels when necessary.

As others have noted, roosters may not fully protect the flock. It really depends on the rooster. Also, a cockerel may not protect a flock as well as an established rooster does. Sometimes cockerels are so distracted by chasing and mating hens that they're not watching for predators.

While there may be some roosters out there that fight off predators or give their life for the flock, my roosters carry out their protection mission by being watchful and giving warnings to the flock when they see danger. This gives the flock a second or two to dodge into vegetative cover, and has saved many hens from potential hawk attacks. That doesn't guarantee there will be no fatalities, however. It just reduces the risk and reduces the number of fatalities. My experience has been with aerial predators, not with terrestrial ones; predators like dogs are a whole different ball game.

 

[lazy gardener]

I've noted that my current roo will stand in the middle of the lawn when a hawk is circling, while he calls the alarm for the girls to run to cover. Interesting. The previous roo would alarm, and skedaddle along with his girls.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've noted that my current roo will stand in the middle of the lawn when a hawk is circling, while he calls the alarm for the girls to run to cover. Interesting. The previous roo would alarm, and skedaddle along with his girls.

They are all different aren't they? I've never noticed hat behavior with mine after a threat has been identified, mine tend to try to lead the flock to safety. But to me that is just more proof that you do not get guarantees with living animals and their behaviors. You never know what a specific individual will do.