So, Mike, you have your cockerel. When you gonna get your hound and your Harley? If you're gonna upset the neighbors, you might as well go big, or go home. (Just kidding.)
I agree with other posters, you need to be ready to put him in solitary if he harasses your pullets overly. As for raising chicks, you will need an exit plan for the 60+/-% of cockerels that you will hatch. You might consider building now to have a separate broody pen/cockerel jail/brooder/grow out pen to meet your future flock keeping needs. Consider building up. If your coop is a walk in coop, you may be able to hang a cage of sorts on the wall while not limiting the floor space of your coop. Or you may be able to build a pen under the roosts, and have a poop board or a poop sling to divert the falling bombs from that area. Or build a predator proof tractor that can be used in the yard/garden... as well as meeting future segregation needs.
I agree with other posters, you need to be ready to put him in solitary if he harasses your pullets overly. As for raising chicks, you will need an exit plan for the 60+/-% of cockerels that you will hatch. You might consider building now to have a separate broody pen/cockerel jail/brooder/grow out pen to meet your future flock keeping needs. Consider building up. If your coop is a walk in coop, you may be able to hang a cage of sorts on the wall while not limiting the floor space of your coop. Or you may be able to build a pen under the roosts, and have a poop board or a poop sling to divert the falling bombs from that area. Or build a predator proof tractor that can be used in the yard/garden... as well as meeting future segregation needs.
