I have a rooster problem.
I bought my mom some chicks to be "her" chickens, and ALL of them (save one) is a rooster.
I gave away two of my own roosters, but that still leaves me with a buff polish roo, two buff orpingtons roos, and a buff silkie roo. And because I can't seem to learn my lesson, I want to start breeding purebreds, so I will be getting even more roosters because I want to focus on copper marans and blue wheaten ameraucanas.
The obvious answer here is to eat some roosters, but all of these are basically pets.
If I build a "bachelor" pad, what does it need to be a permanent pen? My chickens cannot free-roam because my neighbors do not keep their dog pack inside a fence. How big does it need to be, and how far away does it need to be from pens with hens? Does it need to block line of sight, or is merely blocking physical access sufficient? Can it be "open" or do I need to get them an actual 'house'? I want to keep all of my roosters in there except the silkie (who will get housed together with the one silkie hen, I'm probably going to get him some more tiny ladies because silkies are just hilarious), including any juveniles I want to pass judgement on.
My buff rooster is currently quarantined in my closed shop and he still can hear the hens, because he sings the "egg song" with them every day and still gives the "GO TO BED" crow. He's always been such a cheerleader. He also crows to all of the neighbor's roosters and is the main instigator for the daily "I can crow better than you" neighborhood shouting match. Would he be a problem, or is he likely to "keep the peace" if housed with all the other boys?
I bought my mom some chicks to be "her" chickens, and ALL of them (save one) is a rooster.
I gave away two of my own roosters, but that still leaves me with a buff polish roo, two buff orpingtons roos, and a buff silkie roo. And because I can't seem to learn my lesson, I want to start breeding purebreds, so I will be getting even more roosters because I want to focus on copper marans and blue wheaten ameraucanas.
The obvious answer here is to eat some roosters, but all of these are basically pets.
If I build a "bachelor" pad, what does it need to be a permanent pen? My chickens cannot free-roam because my neighbors do not keep their dog pack inside a fence. How big does it need to be, and how far away does it need to be from pens with hens? Does it need to block line of sight, or is merely blocking physical access sufficient? Can it be "open" or do I need to get them an actual 'house'? I want to keep all of my roosters in there except the silkie (who will get housed together with the one silkie hen, I'm probably going to get him some more tiny ladies because silkies are just hilarious), including any juveniles I want to pass judgement on.
My buff rooster is currently quarantined in my closed shop and he still can hear the hens, because he sings the "egg song" with them every day and still gives the "GO TO BED" crow. He's always been such a cheerleader. He also crows to all of the neighbor's roosters and is the main instigator for the daily "I can crow better than you" neighborhood shouting match. Would he be a problem, or is he likely to "keep the peace" if housed with all the other boys?
As far as how much overall run space, as much as possible.
