Help! I need some flock management advice!
Now that all of the young'uns are 5 weeks old, I can be pretty sure of what I've got as far as the sexes go. Of course, the 4 in the brooder are unknowns so far, but I'll be able to tell in another 4 weeks (maybe a little earlier). I usually integrate at 4 weeks, so they will be moving into the coop in 2 weeks (I separate them in their own pen for a week before putting them in with the others).
I've got 2 pullets that are 3 months old or older, 2 pullets that are 5 weeks and 6 cockerels (8 weeks and 5 weeks). I need to separate out the cockerels until I'm ready to choose which ones to breed. What I'm trying to figure out is when I need to remove the cockerels from the pen where the pullets are? I'd like to integrate the chicks in the brooder before I separate them so that I can move all of the cockerels at the same time. So, if I wait for the brooder chicks, the oldest cockerels in the pen would be 12 weeks old. My last cockerel didn't start mounting the pullets until he was about 4-5 months old, so I'm cutting this kind of close if I wait for the brooder. But if I don't wait for the brooder, I'm afraid that adding young cockerels to the cockerel pen will be a disaster for the little ones. This is the first time I've had so many cockerels and since I lost almost all of my flock, I don't have enough pullets/hens to leave them all together. In the past, I'd separate my breeding hens and leave all of the rest together to figure out who was the alpha male. But at most, I've only had two cockerels to worry about. Now, I have to breed all of the pullets until I get my flock rebuilt, and with only 4 pullets (and if I'm lucky, 2 more in the brooder), they will be a real mess if I leave all of those cockerels with them. And, I only want to breed the best of the males (my opinion best, not their opinion!).
So, I need a little advice. Right now, the cockerels are all getting along together. They do some posturing and such, but no real fighting yet. Once the hormones start raging, I know the fighting will start if they are with the pullets.
Now that all of the young'uns are 5 weeks old, I can be pretty sure of what I've got as far as the sexes go. Of course, the 4 in the brooder are unknowns so far, but I'll be able to tell in another 4 weeks (maybe a little earlier). I usually integrate at 4 weeks, so they will be moving into the coop in 2 weeks (I separate them in their own pen for a week before putting them in with the others).
I've got 2 pullets that are 3 months old or older, 2 pullets that are 5 weeks and 6 cockerels (8 weeks and 5 weeks). I need to separate out the cockerels until I'm ready to choose which ones to breed. What I'm trying to figure out is when I need to remove the cockerels from the pen where the pullets are? I'd like to integrate the chicks in the brooder before I separate them so that I can move all of the cockerels at the same time. So, if I wait for the brooder chicks, the oldest cockerels in the pen would be 12 weeks old. My last cockerel didn't start mounting the pullets until he was about 4-5 months old, so I'm cutting this kind of close if I wait for the brooder. But if I don't wait for the brooder, I'm afraid that adding young cockerels to the cockerel pen will be a disaster for the little ones. This is the first time I've had so many cockerels and since I lost almost all of my flock, I don't have enough pullets/hens to leave them all together. In the past, I'd separate my breeding hens and leave all of the rest together to figure out who was the alpha male. But at most, I've only had two cockerels to worry about. Now, I have to breed all of the pullets until I get my flock rebuilt, and with only 4 pullets (and if I'm lucky, 2 more in the brooder), they will be a real mess if I leave all of those cockerels with them. And, I only want to breed the best of the males (my opinion best, not their opinion!).
So, I need a little advice. Right now, the cockerels are all getting along together. They do some posturing and such, but no real fighting yet. Once the hormones start raging, I know the fighting will start if they are with the pullets.
