combining young roosters with established hens

[ChicksofHeaven]

Looking for advice and shared experience. I need to combine three young roosters with three laying hens.
A little background: I raised three chicks that I got from a guy on FBMarketplace. All three turned out to be roosters. Sigh. They will reach 20 weeks at Thanksgiving.
I recently took my sister's three laying hens ( Bro and SIL have been spending time at their snowbird property and the hens left back home were getting gobbled up by predators. I rescued the last three before racoons felt entitled to them.)

So right now, the hens are in a spacious coop, surrounded by a run. The boys are in a small coop and good-sized run, with an enclosed hen house and roost.
I want to introduce the groups this week so that my neighbor can tend them in one spot while we are away for Thanksgiving.

My current plan is to put the boys in a dog kennel (2ft x 3ft - they are part silkie mix, so they are cuddlers.) within the larger run so the hens can meet them with a barrier. Possibly I can put the kennel in the larger coop at night. I can put a roost in the kennel for them. Maybe do this for 2 days or so (giving the boys alone time in the run to establish themselves.) then combine the two flocks. What do you think? What concerns would you have?
Should I be concerned about having 1:1 roosters and hens? I'm hoping since the roosters are young, and the hens are established that the hens will keep them in check and be in charge of the pecking order. Is that a reasonable assumption?
Any other ideas what to do with the roosters? Can I castrate them and raise them for meat? Would it matter? In my area, no one is interested in taking on roosters -- my cousin's kids raise chickens for 4H so they are pretty plugged in.
Thank you for your kind advice.


Pics show... the golden girls are the hens. The black and gray ones are the young roosters.

 

[DobieLover]

Maybe do this for 2 days or so

This is no where near long enough for the 'look don't touch' integration technique.

What do you think? What concerns would you have?

I would have a lot of concerns. Especially considering the number of cockerels to hens.

Should I be concerned about having 1:1 roosters and hens?

Absolutely. If they were separated breeding pairs, that's one thing. And most of birds kept in that type of arrangement it's only for the breeding season, not permanently.

I'm hoping since the roosters are young, and the hens are established that the hens will keep them in check and be in charge of the pecking order.

There are too many cockerels. The boys may fight amongst themselves or the hens may go after them simply because they are new comers without enough acclimation time. Hens can and do tune up cockerels but the number of older experienced hens should far outnumber the number of cockerels. The chances of this working out peacefully are very small.

Any other ideas what to do with the roosters?

Eat all but the best one.

Can I castrate them and raise them for meat?

Caponizing a cockerel is not a simple matter and is not required to keep them in a grow out pen away from the hens until they are large enough to process. I would just keep them separated until you get back from your Thanksgiving destination and start watching the boys to see which one seems to be the best then harvest the other two and integration the chosen one in with the hens.

 

[NatJ]

I raised three chicks that I got from a guy on FBMarketplace. All three turned out to be roosters. Sigh. They will reach 20 weeks at Thanksgiving.

Can I castrate them and raise them for meat?

You can eat the males without needing to castrate them.
You can butcher them now, or as soon as you like. If they are already 18 or 19 weeks old, they are not going to grow much bigger anyway.

For future reference, you can butcher them at any age. Younger chickens are more tender, older ones tend to be bigger but less tender. The tenderness range runs from "broiler/fryer" at one end through a few stages like "roaster" and up to "stewing hen" at the other end-- yes, the names are based on what cooking method is good at what age. If in doubt, you can stew a chicken of any age.

 

[ChicksofHeaven]

Thank you. This is what I was afraid of.

I know you can butcher them at any time, and that caponizing them is not necessary. I was just looking for ways to keep them alive.

I needed this perspective. I'll see about having them butchered.
I'm thinking I would take two of them for meat. The Roo I would keep has never been aggressive, he likes to be by me, but doesn't want me to touch him. Pretty much what I expect from a chicken!
However, the only reason I would keep him is because I like him and he's so pretty. If the hens don't need a rooster, and having one would be more trouble to integrate, then I could let him go. Also these mature hens have never had a rooster....
What would you do? Stock the freezer?

 

[WoDia]

If you DON’T want to butcher them, then you’ve got to rehome 2 of them. Or, 2 need to be housed separately. I know how you feel…. I don’t butcher. But, this is coming from someone that HAS a separate bachelor building for my roosters. You WILL find a way to do it, if you’re against butchering them. I’d also like to note that it’s kind of you to rescue the remaining hens.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you. This is what I was afraid of.
We are not prepared to butcher. I have not even observed that since I was a kid and mom and the adults handled most of it. I just plucked the feathers.
I know you can butcher them at any time, and that caponizing them is not necessary. I was just looking for ways to keep them alive.

If you want to keep them alive, then I suggest you continue to house the males separately from the females, as you have been doing. A male-only flock and a female-only flock will work better than a flock with even numbers of each.

If you want fertile eggs, or just like having a male with the females, you could put one male in with the females, but I would not try to do that in a hurry. Wait until you are home from your trip and have time to do it with supervision and without rushing.

 

[fluffycrow]

If you want to keep them alive, then I suggest you continue to house the males separately from the females, as you have been doing. A male-only flock and a female-only flock will work better than a flock with even numbers of each.

If you want fertile eggs, or just like having a male with the females, you could put one male in with the females, but I would not try to do that in a hurry. Wait until you are home from your trip and have time to do it with supervision and without rushing.

×2

 

[Mrs. K]

Roosters are a crap shoot, the more you have, the greater the odds of it NOT working.

I agree - don't do any mixing and then leave - THAT would be hard on your pet carer to come in to check on them and have a wreck to deal with.

Mrs K