culling a straight run

[jasuus]

Hello -

I am brand new to chickens. I recently ordered 20 chicks, straight run, of 3 different breeds. They are about 1 week old now, and are doing wonderfully! My question is, since its a straight run, I will end up with about 10 cocks. That is way too many cocks. What is the best way to go about managing this. Should i separate the cocks from the hens immediately? At what age should I do this? Should I cull the cocks right away? Space really isn't an issue.

Thanks so much! Everyone on this site has been so helpful.

 

[CedarAcres]

You could always try to sell them on craigslist if you don't plan on eating them. Some people might be happy to buy them from you. If you're interested in eating them you could raise them until they are large enough & then process them.

 

[chooks4life]

You will receive many different and conflicting opinions on this. Since you haven't said what you bought them for, it's hard to give relevant advice. Here's my 2 cent's worth, anyway.

Firstly, it depends on what you want them for. Are you going to eat the males, or just waste them? If you're going to eat some and keep others to breed, obviously you'd have to let them grow up a bit to make the right choices there. If you don't want the males for anything you could rehome/resell them to someone who will grow them to eat or breed, rather than cull and waste, which is a shame. The breeders often take back males if you ordered females but you ordered straight run so I don't know what you'll find there.

When you say '10 is way too many cocks' it gives the impression you want at least one, but then you ask if you should cull them all straight away, which gives the impression you want none, which begs the question in turn of why you would order straight run chicks. Not sure what you mean.

Since they're from a hatchery, (if I'm understanding your post) there is every chance they were descended from males and females that do not naturally socialize and interact in natural flock and family dynamics. This causes instinct to be bred out over the generations. This increases the likelihood that they will be unsafe to be left together; mass hatcheries often produce cannibals, killers, and socially violent chickens. You may be forced to separate them.

However this may not be the case, nor their background, and you may be able to keep them together peacefully. I took some generations to breed out bad male to female behaviour, so now I can have a 50:50 ratio of males and females running together without abuse or damage to females. Early on though I had badly behaved cockerels, but this behaviour was inherited; by not breeding roosters that were mean or disrespectful to hens, I eradicated the issue. But it is probably prudent to expect some of your males if not all may turn out abusive or violent. So while it's a good idea to raise them together if you can, it may be wise to have a separate cage ready to remove troublemakers and bullies once they show their attitudes.

If you're not freeranging them, you'll need a second cage. It's always wise to have extra cages even when you can't foresee any use for them. Good roosters won't give you grief of any sort, but bad ones will be a nightmare. You don't have any guarantees of which you've gotten when you buy them at random, it's an occupational hazard. You will see attitudes emerge from a young age onwards which will give you good indications of which will make breeding or keeping-worthy adults and which won't. Bullying is an inherited mentality if my experiences teach me anything about it. I've bred it out, so far, but bringing in new blood brings risks. Best wishes.

 

[my sunwolf]

Separate cockerels from pullets as soon as possible, usually between 8 and 12 weeks is the best. Some prefer to keep the breeder cockerel in with the pullets from an early age, but it's not always easy to determine who you like the best for breeding when they're young. Let them grow up to at least 20 weeks, then cull down most of the birds that aren't as perfect--funny combs, small body weights, bad coloring, bad temperament, etc. Keep at least 3 cockerels to grow out to 6 months, preferably 8+ months, to see which one or two are best for breeding, then keep those. You can put them back in with the pullets at about 8 months as they will be a little more gentlemanly then.

Keep in mind that you don't have to separate them, especially if they're free range. You can also cull as often as you need to when you see a problem bird. It all depends on how you want to manage your flock.

Good luck!

 

[SobbaChickens]

Separate cockerels from pullets as soon as possible, usually between 8 and 12 weeks is the best. Some prefer to keep the breeder cockerel in with the pullets from an early age, but it's not always easy to determine who you like the best for breeding when they're young. Let them grow up to at least 20 weeks, then cull down most of the birds that aren't as perfect--funny combs, small body weights, bad coloring, bad temperament, etc. Keep at least 3 cockerels to grow out to 6 months, preferably 8+ months, to see which one or two are best for breeding, then keep those. You can put them back in with the pullets at about 8 months as they will be a little more gentlemanly then.

Keep in mind that you don't have to separate them, especially if they're free range. You can also cull as often as you need to when you see a problem bird. It all depends on how you want to manage your flock.

Good luck!

x2

 

[jasuus]

Thanks so much for the quick replies!

I planned on eating the males and keeping the girls for the eggs. I wasn't planning on breeding at this point. I guess I started to have this nightmare of 9 cockerels in a separate pen all fighting each other at 4 weeks of age.

 

[SobbaChickens]

Thanks so much for the quick replies!

I planned on eating the males and keeping the girls for the eggs. I wasn't planning on breeding at this point. I guess I started to have this nightmare of 9 cockerels in a separate pen all fighting each other at 4 weeks of age.

I've read lots of posts on here talking about how roos and pullets raised together tend to be alright, at least until they are older and start fighting over girlfriends

 

[my sunwolf]

Thanks so much for the quick replies!

I planned on eating the males and keeping the girls for the eggs. I wasn't planning on breeding at this point. I guess I started to have this nightmare of 9 cockerels in a separate pen all fighting each other at 4 weeks of age.

Whether for breeding or eating, I always suggest separating them out because, as chooks4life said, hatchery males tend to be very aggressive with each other and with pullets even at young ages. I have had some serious damage done by supposed "breeder quality" males who were very inbred and extremely aggressive. They did a number on the pullets' feathers and killed a fellow male by 8 weeks of age in a large grow-out pen before I separated. Once the cockerels were by themselves there was still some feather picking but no serious damage up until slaughter at 12 weeks. That age was because I just couldn't take any more of these aggressive boys--I actually recommend slaughter at 16-20 weeks for a nice sized and tender carcass. However, small chicken pieces at 12 weeks are also good

Number one is to make sure they have enough room. Most of your troubles will be spared if you have a nice, huge, separate pen for the boys to grow up in!

 

[mithious]

In the past I bought from Meyers and had some of the problems the other posters have talked about. Now, just getting back into chickens, after a long time, I bought from a small family run hatchery, Hoffman, and am really pleased with the behaviors and have them all together. I have atleast two cockerels, 12 pullets, and one, I don't know yet.

The cockerels have already figured out their pecking order and one even calls the girls in for the night...into the brooder corner that they all sleep in, that is...I plan to raise the cockerels to a fairly good size, to see which one I want to keep and if the two get along, and don't tear up the pullets, I will keep both for predator patrol when free ranging and intend to breed also! And yes I am going to keep them together, unless problems start, then I will cull and eat the problem

 

[chooks4life]

Quote: Good stuff, too many people cull the good one to make room for the troublemaker!

"This one's violent so I've just got to get rid of my other roosters so it's all peaceful" ---- otherwise known as 'bowing to the dictator'. Small, feathered dictators making life miserable for other feathered and featherless creatures everywhere.