Cocks or hens?

[Artichoke Lover]

If I was to eat are they old enough to harvest yet?

Technically you can harvest at any age. For a plumper more full sized chicken you’ll want to wait until 14-18 weeks. If you wait after 14 weeks you will want to move them to a separate pen from the hen so that they don’t hurt her. Also you should get another hen or hens around the same age as yours because chickens don’t do well alone without other birds around.

 

[Battlepants]

Truly an unfortunately situation there. Yea, I agree with the others that there are 5 roos and one hen.

This comes with a few problems - you can't keep them together like this, the hen will be killed through overbreeding. Even keeping one roo with her will likely be too much since a roo is really meant to have something like 8 hens. The next problem is that, if you remove all the roos, you now have a solo hen, which is bad for their health.

The best possible resolution I can think of is to create a secondary living space for the boys (preferably where they can't see the girls at all), and try to get some additional hens to live with her so she isn't alone. Alternatively, you could keep one roo if you up your hen count to around 8.

As for harvesting the roos, it is up to you, but RIRs tend to harvest best at around 16-20 weeks for a good amount of meat.

 

[JonathanNY]

Truly an unfortunately situation there. Yea, I agree with the others that there are 5 roos and one hen.

This comes with a few problems - you can't keep them together like this, the hen will be killed through overbreeding. Even keeping one roo with her will likely be too much since a roo is really meant to have something like 8 hens. The next problem is that, if you remove all the roos, you now have a solo hen, which is bad for their health.

The best possible resolution I can think of is to create a secondary living space for the boys (preferably where they can't see the girls at all), and try to get some additional hens to live with her so she isn't alone. Alternatively, you could keep one roo if you up your hen count to around 8.

As for harvesting the roos, it is up to you, but RIRs tend to harvest best at around 16-20 weeks for a good amount of meat.

Thank you for all the responses and knowledge. Idk where to find hens around the same age all my stores have day old chicks.

 

[Battlepants]

Thank you for all the responses and knowledge. Idk where to find hens around the same age all my stores have day old chicks.

Not ideal, but certainly better than nothing. If anything, this will set her up to have new roommates in about a month. In the meantime, adding a few mirrors in her living environment will make her feel less alone.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

You can try asking in your state thread on BYC as well as the Buy Sell Trade section and you can also see if there’s any Facebook or similar groups. Also like others said if all else fails you get chicks and they will be ready to be introduced to her in around a month or a little longer.

 

[BigBlaziken]

5 roosters for sure! TSC is infamous for not sexing properly. i also noticed they keep pullet and straight run chicks in the same container which drastically increases the odds of getting a rooster since the employees just grab em and throw em in a container for you.

I would wait for the roosters to grow a little longer before harvesting. If you have the space you can make a rooster (bachelor) pad separate from the hen. They would live happily there, getting fatter, but would provide no eggs.

Check Craigslist for chickens your hen’s age in your area. Where I live I can find them In a range of ages all year round. You’ll definitely want to get the hen some company. Either leave her with one rooster or find more hens asap.

 

[JonathanNY]

5 roosters for sure! TSC is infamous for not sexing properly. i also noticed they keep pullet and straight run chicks in the same container which drastically increases the odds of getting a rooster since the employees just grab em and throw em in a container for you.

I would wait for the roosters to grow a little longer before harvesting. If you have the space you can make a rooster (bachelor) pad separate from the hen. They would live happily there, getting fatter, but would provide no eggs.

Check Craigslist for chickens your hen’s age in your area. Where I live I can find them In a range of ages all year round. You’ll definitely want to get the hen some company. Either leave her with one rooster or find more hens asap.

What are the chances 5 out of 6! Thank you all. Going to leave them until they are about 14 weeks to harvest and this weeks get some chicks so at 14 weeks when the roosters are ready to harvest the chicks will be able to be introduced to the hen. Therefore never leaving her alone.