butchered my first chicken today

[UPCluck]

I've done some heritage birds in the tractor and they would gang up on the weakest of the group about the time they are starting to mature, trying to mate with the weak one and taking turns until he dies. Found that reducing the number of birds in the tractor helped.

 

[RawEggEater]

Somebody sounds as cynical as I am about many things. It is possible that a hatchery would do something like that. If they did that would be unethical.

21 out of 27, that is 78% males. My incubator hatches are typically in the 20 chick range. A few times I've had hatches where 75% have been either male or 75% female. It seems like half the time the split is 2/3 - 1/3 and could go either way as to sex. One time I even got 7 pullets out of 7 straight run chicks, from Cackle. Could have just as easily been seven cockerels. To me that is just the odds and somebody has to hit those odds occasionally.

The way I figure - if I'm going to start incubating the eggs, it's just a one time cost because I'll never have to go buy them anymore.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

You have your work cut out for you. That's a lot of roosters. 21 of 27 males are almost impossible odds. They must have thrown a lot of probable-male chicks into the supposed "straight run" batch. A bit unethical if you ask me. Do you know who the hatchery was?

Its actually a little better than 1:500. Very rare, yes, but a long ways from Impossible.