Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[cluck-cluck]

Oh, excuse me, I thought that was an association for corporate mass production. My apologies

 

[3riverschick]

Quote:

 

[bnjrob]

Hi,
Need some help figuring out flock dynamics for this mixed flock of youngsters. I have a cockerel who really thinks he's all that. In the pen are 17 birds. My brood hen , March, ( 3/12/12/) , her daughter from 2/23/13 hatch. Then 6 pullets and 3 cockerels from 4/1/13 and 4/15/13 hatches; 3 pullets and 3 cockerels from 4/28/13 hatch. ( these 15 are all from Junior to May breedings.). All 15 went in the big pen together early last evening. The hen and her daughter are living separate from the others as they have already been living in the pen for a while, they prefer not to "mix". . Everyone else is getting along pretty ok except for this one cockerel who runs around biting anyone in the neck who gets in his way. He has the birds he bothers hiding their necks in the corners of the pen. This boy is from 4/15 hatch. He is bigger and his comb and wattles noticeable more developed than the other cockerels. Now I need to pick the 3 very best trio from this mob to go to another breeder in Nov. What do I do, egt rid of this boy or choose him and put him with 2 the pullets in the small run? Yes, I know the cockerels should be living separate from the pullets at this age but I don't have the facilities for that right now. Will have next month.
Thanks for your help,
Karen

If someone doesn't step up shortly and get this cockerel in line, then I'd separate him. I'd either put him by himself and leave everyone together as they are now, or put him with hens, not pullets, for now. Unless you have some pullets that are older and bigger than he is that could at least could hold their own with him.

We had good luck taking an older pullet that was being run around by the two male hatch-mates she was with, and placing her in with a younger hatch group of 2 females and one male. That older pullet has kept the younger cockerel in line and he is not stressing her or the two pullets he hatched with even though he is 5 months old and is trying to act like a big boy.

The two cockerels that were living with their pullet hatch-mate...they now live separately in the garage and we have to carry them to a run every morning. The bigger cockerel started running the younger cockerel half to death after we took the female out, and in this heat, that poor boy was not getting bigger and looking rough. He is now growing and doing well being by himself.

We had a couple of big hatches late spring and last night separated all the males into a new Texas-sized grow out tractor. A few of the slightly older ones have been trying to crow, but none have started showing mating behaviors yet. So far, they are doing well together. Made a creep feeder area but the younger cockerels haven't seemed to need it. The biggest cockerel in that bunch is about 3 times the size of the younger cockerels even though they are just about a month apart. A few times he has nipped at the little ones, but nothing major and they all seem pretty happy. But I won't hold my breath since chicken dynamics can change so fast.

The older and younger pullets don't seem to be having any issues being together either. They were so freaked out last night with all the moving around in the dark that they immediately huddled together as soon as I put the younger pullets in with the older ones.

 

[3riverschick]

Quote: Thanks,
Karen

 

[Fred's Hens]

I posted on another thread today. The subject matter was essentially how absolutely awful and mean Barred Rock "roos" are. The charts all say they're a docile breed, but these BR roosters are the meanest things on the earth. So went the thread. I don't know if anyone will ever read it, and not those who likely need to read it the most, but I posted anyway.


As a keeper and breeder of Rocks for half a century, the issues described on this thread fail to take into account that what 99.9 percent of the people speak about are hatchery birds.

Why does that matter? First, most of the hatchery stock is impure. They are smaller, much more Leghorn looking in appearance, with much messier barring then they should be and there's a reason for that. They are production birds. Just like the production reds versus the true bred Rhode Island Red, the poor Barred Rocks from most hatcheries lay upward of 280 eggs per year. How did that huge increase in laying come about when Barred Rocks from the early 1900's only laid 160 eggs per year? Since barring is dominant, these birds appear to look like Barred Rocks, but they have had things hidden in their mix to increase their laying and to provide feather sexing. This changes the personality of the original birds.

Second, hatcheries mass breed, for it is mass production rather then selective breeding. In a pen where there are 100 roosters and 1000 hens, the right to breed and re-produce will fall to the most aggressive and ornery cockbird. Breed like this, and they do, for generation upon generation and eventually the majority of the roosters can inherit this aggressive, ornery state of mind.

I am sorry that folks form such bad opinions of a Rhode Island Red or Barred Rock, when in truth, they've never really owned a true bred, bred to standard, heritage bird of either breed.

With hatchery stock, you've got to weed through them. You've got to find that one in 10 that is still natured as the creators of these wonderful breeds intended them be. Send the rest to freezer camp.

When people read on a chart somewhere about temperament, the description of a Barred Rock being docile is untrustworthy because that description only fits the original type.

 

[bnjrob]

Thanks,
Karen

You could try moving all the other cockerels except that one out and see if moving them out keeps the peace or if he tries to start harassing the females.

If the bullying cockerel ends up terrorizing everyone even after the other males are out of that pen, then you could always just go ahead and separate him completely until the others are big enough to fend him off.

I swear some days it is a crap shoot trying to figure out who is going to get along with who, and for how long.

 

[3riverschick]

Quote: ok, I will try this. Thanks!

 

[thedragonlady]

I posted on another thread today. The subject matter was essentially how absolutely awful and mean Barred Rock "roos" are. The charts all say they're a docile breed, but these BR roosters are the meanest things on the earth. So went the thread. I don't know if anyone will ever read it, and not those who likely need to read it the most, but I posted anyway.


As a keeper and breeder of Rocks for half a century, the issues described on this thread fail to take into account that what 99.9 percent of the people speak about are hatchery birds.

Why does that matter? First, most of the hatchery stock is impure. They are smaller, much more Leghorn looking in appearance, with much messier barring then they should be and there's a reason for that. They are production birds. Just like the production reds versus the true bred Rhode Island Red, the poor Barred Rocks from most hatcheries lay upward of 280 eggs per year. How did that huge increase in laying come about when Barred Rocks from the early 1900's only laid 160 eggs per year? Since barring is dominant, these birds appear to look like Barred Rocks, but they have had things hidden in their mix to increase their laying and to provide feather sexing. This changes the personality of the original birds.

Second, hatcheries mass breed, for it is mass production rather then selective breeding. In a pen where there are 100 roosters and 1000 hens, the right to breed and re-produce will fall to the most aggressive and ornery cockbird. Breed like this, and they do, for generation upon generation and eventually the majority of the roosters can inherit this aggressive, ornery state of mind.

I am sorry that folks form such bad opinions of a Rhode Island Red or Barred Rock, when in truth, they've never really owned a true bred, bred to standard, heritage bird of either breed.

With hatchery stock, you've got to weed through them. You've got to find that one in 10 that is still natured as the creators of these wonderful breeds intended them be. Send the rest to freezer camp.

When people read on a chart somewhere about temperament, the description of a Barred Rock being docile is untrustworthy because that description only fits the original type.

Fred,

You are SO right about temperament.

I bred Parrots for many years. I bred friendly, sweet tempered birds only. My male birds would give me good night kisses, and scurry in the nest box to feed their girls.All the girls were very tame and jolly too.I hatched and reared sweet babies.

The average bad tempered parrot ends up going to a breeder facility, since PETA, and the pet shop lobby messed up imports. All those bad tempered birds will still breed, and if you sell one back to a pet shop , that's where it goes. Imagine if you bred dogs from lines of vicious parents.Think of what you'd end up with. Yup, a lot of the parrots...Amazons, especially, being reared by those misfits are cute as the dickens until they hit 4 or 5 years old, and sexual maturity. At that time, they turn into South American revolutionaries, and will rearrange your face.

We have the same problem with LF cock birds. Temperament is something I stress with my Orps. A 15 lb. cock bird can hurt you ! They can really do a number on a child. I have zero patience for this.Getting back to the original type and temperament of these big birds is important.

 

[3riverschick]

Ok. pulled the chicken tractor to beside the big run. Took out the 4 least dominant of the cockerels. They seemed grateful. The "bully" and the other cockerel about his size, I left in the big run with the girls. That seemed to do it. Things seem copacetic. There's a bit of scuffing in the tractor between the cockerels there, but nothing like what was going on earlier in the big run. March, the brood hen seems more settled too. She still isn't socializing with the youngsters, but isn't as standoffish as she was.

Thanks!
Karen

 

[thedragonlady]

Ok. pulled the chicken tractor to beside the big run. Took out the 4 least dominant of the cockerels. They seemed grateful. The "bully" and the other cockerel about his size, I left in the big run with the girls. That seemed to do it. Things seem copacetic. There's a bit of scuffing in the tractor between the cockerels there, but nothing like what was going on earlier in the big run. March, the brood hen seems more settled too. She still isn't socializing with the youngsters, but isn't as standoffish as she was.

Thanks!
Karen

At this time of the year, with multiple hatches, it's shuffle, shuffle, shuffle. A couple of starchy old hens are just the ticket for straightening juvenile delinquent boys out.