Bringing in a replacement roo/cockerel

[lazy gardener]

Interesting development with Jack and Goliath this morning. I was out checking on the birds. Goliath was standing in the run, on a perch that is about 15" high, crowing up a storm. Jack walked up to stand in front of him, stopping about 18" away. Goliath stopped crowing, stood his ground and hackles went up. I thought, "Oh no. Here it comes... the show down for head honcho status." They maintained that position for a few very long seconds. Jack simply stood his ground, no hackles raised. Goliath's hackles finally went down, Jack turned and walked away. In "roo speak", I'm not sure who, if any body had the last word in that conversation. A short while later, Goliath was on the ground, and I observed his scurrying to get away from Jack. Maybe not today, but that show down is coming. I'd really like to keep both boys through spring breeding. But that may not be practical.

 

[aart]

So it took Willie a month or two to really relax around me, he's fine now.
We'll see what kind of chicks he throws, hatching time is nigh on hand.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

My current flock consists mostly of pullets, with a few favorite hens (around 30 total). A lot of the pullets are laying now. Jack, my avatar roo will be 4 years old this coming spring. I don't want to replace him b/c he has been a wonderful roo, loves his babies, and throws the blue egg gene. However, I know that sooner or later, his fertility is going to drop. So, it's time to be planning towards the day that he will retire. Of all the cockerels hatched this spring, none were IME as good as Jack. I had ordered 2 BE cockerels. One of them is a big beefy boy, and at almost 6 months of age, he's about the same size as Jack, if not bigger. He has excellent coloring. His comb is not as tight as I'd like to see, but his feathering and size are far superior to the other BE.

Plan A: When I put the rest of the spring cockerels into the grow out pen, I left the 2 BE boys in the flock along with all of the spring pullets. However, they started being more aggressive with the pullets than I was willing to put up with, so they got shuffled back into the grow out pen.

Plan B: I started letting the BE boys out with about a dozen girls for a few hours before coop time in the evenings. Their behavior, even when only let out one at a time continued to be atrocious, with a lot of chasing down, and grabbing. No successful mating. I realize this is part of the learning curve...

Plan C: This afternoon, I let Jack and his girls out, and allowed Goliath to join them. Goliath tried to take liberties, and Jack immediately gave Goliath a "run for his life". Just what he needed. He's been a bit better behaved, and actually had what appeared to be a successful breeding.

Tonight, after hubby and I returned from our walk, I went out to shut up the run, and see to it that everyone was where they belonged. Surprise. There were 3 boys in the big coop. Evidently, Goliath decided he'd bed down with the big kids. And Jr. escaped from his confinement behind 2 doors in the grow out coop, and went in to the big coop to join Goliath. So... just to keep the peace, I'll be removing both BE boys for the night after they are good and settled. Tomorrow, we'll continue with plan C.

What does “BE” stand for, blue egger?

 

[lazy gardener]

Sorry, I've been duly reprimanded for using inappropriate abbreviations. Buck Eye.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Sorry, I've been duly reprimanded for using inappropriate abbreviations. Buck Eye.

That’s ok. Thanks for clearing it up for me. Sorry about the decision you have to make about Jack.