Four cockerels, one crowing.

[Sugar0323]

Currently we own 4 Salmon Faverolle cockerels. This afternoon to my surprise one began crowing in the run! As exciting as this is, will they ALL crow or just our head hancho? Also, is it normal for hens to be higher in the pecking order than the other roosters? They seem to put the other ones in their place occasionally. New chicken owner warning!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Not every rooster gets his hormones at the same time. The others will start soon. It's possible the bottom in the rooster pecking order might be a bit more quiet. Your boys are just reaching sexual maturity. Give them another month and they could be terrorizing your hens depending on their confidence level. Things will soon get a bit more rambunctious .

How many hens do you have?

 

[Sugar0323]

And one last question. We purchased this breed to utilize their dual purpose. We would like to eventually run a small, self sufficient farm. 2 of the cockerels will be processed but we aren't sure how to decide which one. We wanted to wait and see their personalities when they began to hit maturity but is this the best way to decide? We'd like to keep 2 of them for breeding purposes but is this a good idea either? We have 14 hens and I know rule of thumb is 10 hens per rooster. We live in North Dakota so I would hate to separate them from the hens all together because of the extreme temperatures and the predators. We have already had a run in with a coyote which our head hancho and "farm dog" dealt with.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

That's how I decide who to keep. It can take them up to a year before you see their full personality. With only 14 hens I would think about swapping out roosters and keeping one penned separately within the coop. During the winter you may be okay leaving both out, but they may fight. You will just have to see how it goes. If both roosters are mild they could do okay.

Chickens do okay in winter. Your roosters may loose some of their combs to frostbite when it gets really cold. Most of my single combed roosters are missing their points.

Coyotes will be your worse enemy. Be careful they don't kill your dog. I would keep a gun handy as they are bold and wickedly smart.

 

[Sugar0323]

That's how I decide who to keep. It can take them up to a year before you see their full personality. With only 14 hens I would think about swapping out roosters and keeping one penned separately within the coop. During the winter you may be okay leaving both out, but they may fight. You will just have to see how it goes. If both roosters are mild they could do okay.

Chickens do okay in winter. Your roosters may loose some of their combs to frostbite when it gets really cold. Most of my single combed roosters are missing their points.

Coyotes will be your worse enemy. Be careful they don't kill your dog. I would keep a gun handy as they are bold and wickedly smart.

I read to apply Vaseline to the combs? Does this cause any issues? One of the roosters has begun checking me out more than the other 3. He isn't the lead but I'm not allowing my 2 year old in the back because he has begun making me nervous. He doesn't jump at me or act aggressive but he keeps close to me more so than any of the others. We have a coop we purchased online but it turned out to be smaller than the manufacturer said and it's already leaking. (We had a storm last night so I'm having to completely clean it). Now we are turning a camper into a coop! Hopefully with the extra room in the camper the top 2 will coexist peacefully but if not we will just make space in our Quonset to keep them warm.

 

[Sugar0323]

That's how I decide who to keep. It can take them up to a year before you see their full personality. With only 14 hens I would think about swapping out roosters and keeping one penned separately within the coop. During the winter you may be okay leaving both out, but they may fight. You will just have to see how it goes. If both roosters are mild they could do okay.

Chickens do okay in winter. Your roosters may loose some of their combs to frostbite when it gets really cold. Most of my single combed roosters are missing their points.

Coyotes will be your worse enemy. Be careful they don't kill your dog. I would keep a gun handy as they are bold and wickedly smart.

It's actually funny because our dog was an infamous chicken killer and has killed a neighbors fainting goat when he was younger. Now they lay all around him and he gets an occasional peck. He's a pit bull/American bulldog and in his old age has changed so much.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I believe you have winter weather similar to ours. Applying Vaseline would be almost a daily job. When the winds are -40 below there's no stopping frostbite. Roosters don't tuck their heads under their wing at night like hens do. I personally am not chasing roosters around to put Vaseline on them. They get frostbite, parts blocked and fall off and the next season it's not a problem.

As far as your rooster, if he makes you nervous be rid of him as they will feed off of fear. There's a forwardness that is dominating and than there's curiosity. One way to check is to walk at him, he should always move out of the way and give you a minimum of 5 feet of respectful distance. At their age it probably is bold curiosity. Do certain things now can cause more or less aggression. So keep walking through them in a confident manner, and never give them your back. They should always move away from you not towards unless they are coming for food.

 

[Sugar0323]

I believe you have winter weather similar to ours. Applying Vaseline would be almost a daily job. When the winds are -40 below there's no stopping frostbite. Roosters don't tuck their heads under their wing at night like hens do. I personally am not chasing roosters around to put Vaseline on them. They get frostbite, parts blocked and fall off and the next season it's not a problem.

As far as your rooster, if he makes you nervous be rid of him as they will feed off of fear. There's a forwardness that is dominating and than there's curiosity. One way to check is to walk at him, he should always move out of the way and give you a minimum of 5 feet of respectful distance. At their age it probably is bold curiosity. Do certain things now can cause more or less aggression. So keep walking through them in a confident manner, and never give them your back. They should always move away from you not towards unless they are coming for food.

I'll try that next time I go out. He just began doing this 2 days ago. The roosters have always ignored me for the most part unless I'm holding meal worms. I hope he's just looking for treats haha. Thank you for answering my questions. Some people make it seem like raising a flock is easy and I'm finding they're more work than my children!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

All females can be easy, it's the boys that can be troubles and require management so they turn out right, and respectful, so it is similar to raising kids.

 

[Sugar0323]

Ok I have another question. My chickens free range from early afternoon until just before dark. Do I still need to provide a dust bathing area or will they do this on their own?