Cull or keep?

[blackacres]

I currently have 13 chickens. 7 are cockerels. I hope to keep 2 of them. How quickly do I need to rehome the others? None of my chickens are older than 12 weeks.
I do not have a separate coop and run to put rather cockerels in at the moment. If I work on adding another space for them, would they all be okay together until Spring or are they going to annihilate the few pullets I do have? Sorry if this seems naive but I just entered the chicken keeping world and have so much to learn.
There are several different breeds because I’m trying to decide what breeds are for me. I have no plans to ever hatch any of my own eggs. That being said, I probably don’t even need a rooster. However, the two I’d like to keep are simply because I’m really enjoying watching them grow out and one of them is a total sweetheart.

 

[cfonts]

If you only have 6 pullets, two cockerels will be too much for your small flock... unless you plan on adding more hens to your flock. I think they usually recommend 1 rooster for every 7-10 hens.

 

[Isadora]

I currently have 13 chickens. 7 are cockerels. I hope to keep 2 of them. How quickly do I need to rehome the others? None of my chickens are older than 12 weeks.
I do not have a separate coop and run to put rather cockerels in at the moment. If I work on adding another space for them, would they all be okay together until Spring or are they going to annihilate the few pullets I do have? Sorry if this seems naive but I just entered the chicken keeping world and have so much to learn.
There are several different breeds because I’m trying to decide what breeds are for me. I have no plans to ever hatch any of my own eggs. That being said, I probably don’t even need a rooster. However, the two I’d like to keep are simply because I’m really enjoying watching them grow out and one of them is a total sweetheart.

Some of it depends on personal preference, but since you have so many to get rid of, I would start immediately. A lot of times cockerels are hard to rehome because they aren't as desirable as females and a lot of people hatch their own out, so you have competition out there.
If you do end up keeping two, I would keep a close eye on them when they start breeding with the ladies. A 6:2 ratio is likely too much for your girls since most roosters are pretty aggressive breeders. The girls end up with the short of the stick, often missing feathers on their backs, necks and heads.

 

[blackacres]

If you only have 6 pullets, two cockerels will be too much for your small flock... unless you plan on adding more hens to your flock. I think they usually recommend 1 rooster for every 7-10 hens.

I definitely plan to add more pullets. I am currently searching for them in my local groups!

 

[blackacres]

Some of it depends on personal preference, but since you have so many to get rid of, I would start immediately. A lot of times cockerels are hard to rehome because they aren't as desirable as females and a lot of people hatch their own out, so you have competition out there.
If you do end up keeping two, I would keep a close eye on them when they start breeding with the ladies. A 6:2 ratio is likely too much for your girls since most roosters are pretty aggressive breeders. The girls end up with the short of the stick, often missing feathers on their backs, necks and heads.

I am trying to find more pullets. It’s not proving to be easy this time of year! I had 10 cockerels and have rehomed 3. I literally had to give them away which was not a fun experience considering what I paid for them.

 

[Isadora]

I am trying to find more pullets. It’s not proving to be easy this time of year! I had 10 cockerels and have rehomed 3. I literally had to give them away which was not a fun experience considering what I paid for them.

There are aspects to chicken keeping that aren't fun, but I think all the good parts make up for it! ,

 

[aart]

I work on adding another space for them,

Do it fast, they are about to start feeling their hormones flow.

would they all be okay together until Spring or are they going to annihilate the few pullets I do have?

Not likely.

Probably best to get rid of them all, pronto.
2 males even with adding more females is not going to be pretty.

 

[Mrs. K]

With cockerels - a few things to know

• How they are acting today is NOT indicative how they will act tomorrow.
• This forum is full of stories where the darling became the nightmare in an instant
• Cockerels take IMO considerable chicken experience
• The more cockerels you have - the great the chance of it not working out.
• Often times, cockerels raised just with flock mates, get bigger faster than pullets, and with no older birds to thump some manners into them, they become bullies, both human and chicken aggressive.
• People without experience tend to vastly underestimate how violent a bird can be.
• Always have a plan B, set up and ready to use. A long handled fish net can be used to separate fighting birds. Or long sleeves and gloves. A dog crate can be used for temporary housing, but it all needs to be close to hand and ready to go.
• Cockerels or roosters have no concept of sharing, or those hens are yours, and these are mine. They tend to want them all, and often will fight for them.

If this is your first time keeping chickens I highly recommend an all hen flock the first year, and then, the next year, or even the year after, try one.

If you have children under the age of 6, I strongly recommend no cockerels, children tend to be attacked first, and small ones can take it in the face.

I have kept roosters, and hens for decades. I would not keep a pair of roosters with less than 20-25 birds, not because of the 10 hens/rooster ratio which is tooted like a magic one. But rather, I think roosters take more room than hens. And I would only keep two if I had enough room for 20-30 birds. I just don't need more roosters for my goals.

As AArt say "roosters are where the romance meets the reality."

Let all of them go!

Mrs K

 

[blackacres]

Do it fast, they are about to start feeling their hormones flow.


Not likely.

Probably best to get rid of them all, pronto.
2 males even with adding more females is not going to be pretty.

With cockerels - a few things to know

• How they are acting today is NOT indicative how they will act tomorrow.
• This forum is full of stories where the darling became the nightmare in an instant
• Cockerels take IMO considerable chicken experience
• The more cockerels you have - the great the chance of it not working out.
• Often times, cockerels raised just with flock mates, get bigger faster than pullets, and with no older birds to thump some manners into them, they become bullies, both human and chicken aggressive.
• People without experience tend to vastly underestimate how violent a bird can be.
• Always have a plan B, set up and ready to use. A long handled fish net can be used to separate fighting birds. Or long sleeves and gloves. A dog crate can be used for temporary housing, but it all needs to be close to hand and ready to go.
• Cockerels or roosters have no concept of sharing, or those hens are yours, and these are mine. They tend to want them all, and often will fight for them.

If this is your first time keeping chickens I highly recommend an all hen flock the first year, and then, the next year, or even the year after, try one.

If you have children under the age of 6, I strongly recommend no cockerels, children tend to be attacked first, and small ones can take it in the face.

I have kept roosters, and hens for decades. I would not keep a pair of roosters with less than 20-25 birds, not because of the 10 hens/rooster ratio which is tooted like a magic one. But rather, I think roosters take more room than hens. And I would only keep two if I had enough room for 20-30 birds. I just don't need more roosters for my goals.

As AArt say "roosters are where the romance meets the reality."

Let all of them go!

Mrs K

Thank you both so much! Helpful and informative. I appreciate your response. Sounds like it’s unfortunately time to thin the flock. Unless I can find a way ASAP to separately house the two cockerels I’d like to keep, I’ll be rehoming all 5 quickly. Again, thank you for the info!

 

[K0k0shka]

Look into processing them. That's a lot of good meat to throw away. There are a lot of youtube videos and how-tos out there, including on BYC. Get a slaughter cone and a large pair of loppers, or a very sharp knife. It's not fun, but it's life, and you can get used to it. Chances are the cockerels are going to end up in somebody's soup anyway if you rehome them, so might as well be the one eating the soup!