Did I mess up?

[SgtBakYardFarmr]

Have had may chickens a year this spring. I have a chicken house but have been letting the "free range" since they were big enough.After they matured and we worked out the issues with neighbor dogs, I ended up with 8 hens and 8 roosters. Things were going well. I was getting about 4 to 5 eggs a day and no real issues. Last few months my rooster have been much more aggressive with the hens, to the point I have been having to render some first aid. So last week I closed off my coop 10ft by 30ft. I'm keeping the hens in the coop and the rosters are now "free range". They do pace around the the coop a lot but he girls don't seem to notice or care. The problem is I am now getting about 1 egg a day. Any advice?

 

[Sweetly Silkies]

Having too many roosters is BAD. my advice is make a soda can chicken, rotisseri, or even a deep fried chicken! (somebody did that once, it took a while but it was DELISH)
or if you dont wanna eat you could attempt to give away your roos, but thats hard. dont ask for any money because hardly ever does somebody wanna pay for a roo.
Your hens are probably stressed, with that many roosters no wonder! lol, i have too many too and its time to break out the cones.

Or, your not getting that many eggs because you dont have a light in the coop, or its too cold. they need a certain number of hours of light a day to lay.
another possibility is too get more hens! it should be around 10 per rooster, or 8 per, so you could always do that.

sorry for being 'mean' about the roosters. (i am not meaning to sound mean!) I just had a hen once that got so beat up by the roosters that it killed her, and if you are having to break out the first aid, its probably time..

~Sweetly Silkies

 

[Shellz]

I have/had same problems! I know the solutions to mine. I don't use supplemental light, so when days get shorter, I get less eggs. A lot less. Now it seems to me, you have too many roosters in your flock. I have 3 to my 10 hens. That's 2 too many. I should have harvested the 2 sooner! They are bickering and tearing at each others combs & wattles. This morning had to bring one in the house because it had frozen blood in icy chunks, all over its neck & chest. I cleaned him up & put him back. It will only get worse, & we've put it off for too long. Last year we made coq au vin out of their dad. Best meal ever!!! Good luck to you!

 

[SgtBakYardFarmr]

Thanks for the advice, and I am not apposed to a good meal, LOL. Was just scratching my head because I separated them and thought it would be less stress on them being pinned off from the roosters.

 

[Shellz]

When's dinner? Lol!
This will be my 4th year with chickens now. I'm still learning too! Maybe somebody else can chime in with some ideas?