Expert Problem Re: Sexing and Feed

[3KillerBs]

Hmmm, you have set off a brainstorm in my brain! I'll get to the point in a minute. I have much experience in Haiti and speak the language. There, if someone wants to nail something, they search about for a bent nail that someone threw away, unbend it with a rock, and nail it with a rock. Given this, most people cannot buy or make cages for chickens although, certainly, some can. What do the others do? Easy. They tie a string around one leg of a chicken and tie the other end around a chunk of concrete. End of story.

For better or worse, for richer or poorer, I am tied to my cockerels whom I have raised since they were about 2.5 weeks old. I cannot say good-bye. Neither will it be easy to suddenly "build" and erect a new cage to separate them, per your suggestion, although I could. Maybe I should just use the Haiti method. Leave, maybe one beta male with the flock, and pull the rest of my cockerels, and tie them up in my backyard patio with no more than a concrete block and pieces of cord, easy to feed and water, hose down the poop (I have drainage). I would then be doing the same as thousands do in Haiti every day . . .

Maybe this way I could have my cake/cockerels and eat it too (bad pun), and still separate all those males, leaving in my coop all the females and one beta male.

What'd'ya think?

Tethering roosters is common practice among keepers of game-breed chickens in parts of the US.

The practice is widely associated with cockfighting, but it's also used by respectable hobbyists keeping game breeds as a practical solution to the problem of being unable to keep game roosters together since they'll fight.

 

[linuxusr]

Yes, by all means do I love my birds. I am retired. I spend time with them every day. We sit together when they are resting, they eyeing me quizzically, inches away. When I wake up, a quick coffee, then three hours feeding the animals. I cannot relax if they are hungry. And I have more special friends than chickens.

I have two cats that lounge in the patio. They are used to the chickens but you never know. The patio has a screened, iron security door that I can lock, so that would protect them from my cats "just in case." Once in a while a feral cat gets in from the roof. I'd have to think about that. Yes, good point on the weather, both protection from the hot sun and/or rain. The second floor patio is enclosed by a wall. If my put the cockerels in the corner of the patio, near the back wall, the side and back walls are at 90 degrees. I could then place a piece of my zinc roofing over this area (it would form a kind of triangle), that would provide shade and protection from rain. One feral cat against six aggressive cockerels? I think they would put up one helluva fuss. Compared to dogs, I think that cats are easy to scare away. . . .

 

[linuxusr]

Tethering roosters is common practice among keepers of game-breed chickens in parts of the US.

View attachment 2777517

The practice is widely associated with cockfighting, but it's also used by respectable hobbyists keeping game breeds as a practical solution to the problem of being unable to keep game roosters together since they'll fight.

Don't attack the messenger! As you probably know, in Haiti and the D.R. the "respectable hobbyists" are the ones who breed cocks for fighting. Walking distance from my apartment, here in the capital (Santo Domingo), I could buy a fighting cock right now and walk home with it under my arm. That being said, the practice is illegal in the D.R. and there will be arrests and imprisonment and fines and confiscation if found out. In Haiti, it is accepted and in the open. The special wood arenas, with roofs, are everywhere to be found and are referred to as gagè in Haitian Kreyòl.

If you raise chickens for meat/eggs it's like "Meh!" No respect.

OK, so I see that there is precedent in the U.S. and it is referred to as "tethering."

 

[Danielpn]

Maybe initiate a "males for nails" trading plan. Everybody benefits, even the males, except you still have to say good-bye to some pets. I bet that will be better than the possibility of witnessing the roosters fighting as they mature.

 

[linuxusr]

Maybe initiate a "males for nails" trading plan. Everybody benefits, even the males, except you still have to say good-bye to some pets. I bet that will be better than the possibility of witnessing the roosters fighting as they mature.

Sequestering the males is a temporary solution, not long term. Hopefully, it will resolve pecking order issues and, meanwhile, I'll seek trades for pullets.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes. tethering is a traditional way to manage multiple roosters when it becomes a problem. It is best known for handling fighting cocks but can be used in other situations. As noted, you have the animal welfare issues of predator protection and weather protection as well as food and water but there is nothing brutal or inhumane about the process. I tend to go by what I see as far as handling multiple males, sometimes it can work out without doing anything. But you need to have a plan because if you need something you may need it right now.

Good luck.

 

[linuxusr]

I have removed all cockerels except one. The males are now tethered. Time to think about giving them away, exchanging, etc. If you're interested in hens for eggs, so many males are a waste of time, money, and work. They're beautiful birds . . . but I must face reality.

Now I have a new problem! This is a problem that you are all familiar with but I am stuck The two new pullets are attacked either by another pullet or the cockerel when they try to leave a nesting box where they stay sequestered. I am afraid that they are not able to eat or, more importantly, to drink. After the first day, I fed them and made sure they drank, while keeping the others at bay.

But I can't don my boots throughout the day just to provide food and water for these two new pullets. What should I do??

 

[Ridgerunner]

The two new pullets are attacked either by another pullet or the cockerel when they try to leave a nesting box where they stay sequestered.

From the behavior you describe it sounds like the two new pullets are a bit younger than the others. It's pretty normal for my less mature chickens to be afraid of more mature chickens. The older outrank the younger in the pecking order and often aren't shy about pecking them if they invade their personal space. The way my chickens handle that is that the younger stay away from the older. Yours are doing that by hiding in the nest.

How much room do you have in meters a coop or how much room in a run? A photo of what your facilities look like could be really helpful. A standard way to handle that is to house them across wire for a while until they get used to each other and then give them enough room so they can avoid each other. Providing multiple feed and water stations can help, the older like to intimidate the younger by keeping them away from food and water. Adding clutter to the space can improve the quality of what space you have. Clutter means things for them to hide under, behind, or above, something to break the line of sight. I understand your story of the bent nails. Dad never threw away a nail that could maybe be straightened. If I could understand what room you have to work with I might be able to make specific suggestions.

 

[linuxusr]

Thanks for these suggestions. I'm going to go with a separate food station and water for the time being. I also have a little wood ladder for climbing. I think I'll lay that horizontally between the nesting box where they hide and the side of the coop -- an obstacle to provide a little security and make it harder for the others to molest them.

My space for the U.S. might be paltry but for the Dominican Republic, they are living in a Beverly Hills mansion, so it's relative. My space is what it is . . . When 10 are lying in the short shady end in the heat of the day after eating, they are occupying 1/4 of the space.

Oh, and yes, you are exactly right. My pullets and cockerels are around 3.5 months and I estimate the new pullets around 3 months.

My six "extra" cockerels that I pulled are tethered in various locations. I guess I like living dangerously because I'm thinking about adding two guinea fowl, which I can buy walking distance from my house. They are in an outdoor meat market with many types of fowl that you select and pay to have killed and butchered on the spot, and bring home for lunch. The guinea hens there are mixed with the same breed of chickens I have, in cages, and they all seem to be fine. I've done some reading about others' experience keeping both. There are some risks in terms of aggression but not always.

I've always loved guinea fowl and I've eaten them. The meat is black. They have been in Haiti for hundreds of years . . . They are called pintad.

From the behavior you describe it sounds like the two new pullets are a bit younger than the others. It's pretty normal for my less mature chickens to be afraid of more mature chickens. The older outrank the younger in the pecking order and often aren't shy about pecking them if they invade their personal space. The way my chickens handle that is that the younger stay away from the older. Yours are doing that by hiding in the nest.

How much room do you have in meters a coop or how much room in a run? A photo of what your facilities look like could be really helpful. A standard way to handle that is to house them across wire for a while until they get used to each other and then give them enough room so they can avoid each other. Providing multiple feed and water stations can help, the older like to intimidate the younger by keeping them away from food and water. Adding clutter to the space can improve the quality of what space you have. Clutter means things for them to hide under, behind, or above, something to break the line of sight. I understand your story of the bent nails. Dad never threw away a nail that could maybe be straightened. If I could understand what room you have to work with I might be able to make specific suggestions.

 

[Mrs. K]

My advice - which you probably are not going to take, is do not add more birds. You have too many birds for the space you have, and crowded birds get ugly behaviors, cause a lot of unrest. Always solve for peace in the flock, they are healthier, and give more eggs.

Mrs K