Help! Still trying to solve my rooster dilemma!

[Dvalland]

Help! New to chickens and I hatched 6 myself the beginning of April. Looks like I am the mother of roosters…bc all 6 are roosters 3 standard and 3 silkies. I purchased 14 sexed hens about 6 weeks ago and am about to move everyone out into the converted shed and 10x20 run we made. I have 10 acres but know I can’t keep all the roosters with only 14 hens. Seems like they are going to be tough to rehome (no one wants roosters so far and I have listed them) and I don’t want to eat them unless they get mean. Could I keep the 3 silkies with the hens in the coop and run and let the other 3 roosters just free range with a small shelter? What would happen if I wanted to let the hens free range sometimes would the 3 big roosters go crazy?? Was thinking I could keep the roosters in 2 separate groups at all times, but allow hens to be with full sized roosters only when they free range (supervised). Would the silkie roosters be less likely to beat up the hens since they are so small? They are tiny tiny…the 7 week old pullets are already as big or bigger than my 14 week old silkie roosters. Thanks for any advice! Trying hard to make it work for all of them.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Help! New to chickens and I hatched 6 myself the beginning of April. Looks like I am the mother of roosters…bc all 6 are roosters 3 standard and 3 silkies. I purchased 14 sexed hens about 6 weeks ago and am about to move everyone out into the converted shed and 10x20 run we made. I have 10 acres but know I can’t keep all the roosters with only 14 hens. Seems like they are going to be tough to rehome (no one wants roosters so far and I have listed them) and I don’t want to eat them unless they get mean. Could I keep the 3 silkies with the hens in the coop and run and let the other 3 roosters just free range with a small shelter? What would happen if I wanted to let the hens free range sometimes would the 3 big roosters go crazy?? Was thinking I could keep the roosters in 2 separate groups at all times, but allow hens to be with full sized roosters only when they free range (supervised). Would the silkie roosters be less likely to beat up the hens since they are so small? They are tiny tiny…the 7 week old pullets are already as big or bigger than my 14 week old silkie roosters. Thanks for any advice! Trying hard to make it work for all of them.

I keep an odd number of Roosters to hen without much issue. If you don't like the idea, you can keep one cockerel with the pullets, & make a bachelor pad for the rest, & swap boys every once in awhile.

Or you can turn the extras into soup.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Silkie's don't cause much damage, & I own an odd number of silkie roosters, & silkie hens.


The pullets are quite young, so they need to grow up more. So they shouldn't be with the older cockerels, whether it's a silkie, or not.

 

[Dvalland]

Silkie's don't cause much damage, & I own an odd number of silkie roosters, & silkie hens.


The pullets are quite young, so they need to grow up more. So they shouldn't be with the older cockerels, whether it's a silkie, or not.

Thank you! They are in a separate enclosure, but can see and touch through wire. I was thinking of doing something similar when they move to big run. That way they continue to interact, but aren’t enclosed together.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Thank you! They are in a separate enclosure, but can see and touch through wire. I was thinking of doing something similar when they move to big run. That way they continue to interact, but aren’t enclosed together.

It's supposed to be see, no touch.

Sounds like a good idea.

 

[Dvalland]

It's supposed to be see, no touch.

Sounds like a good idea.

Oh interesting. Not sure how I can prevent touching since it’s chicken wire. Will see what I can set up though.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Oh interesting. Not sure how I can prevent touching since it’s chicken wire. Will see what I can set up though.

Welded wire, or the typical 1 inch chicken wire?

If chicken wire there's minimal touching.

Welded wire, heads can get through.

 

[K0k0shka]

Not sure how I can prevent touching since it’s chicken wire. Will see what I can set up though.

Chicken wire is fine. They'd have to be standing right up against the wire for one to be able to peck the other through it. They'll learn quickly to stay away from the wire if they're really getting pecked through it. You're fine.

 

[Dvalland]

Welded wire, or the typical 1 inch chicken wire?

If chicken wire there's minimal touching.

Welded wire, heads can get through.

It’s chicken wire! Thanks for the information though

 

[Mrs. K]

Really there are no rules to rooster chicks, as in 'if you set it up like this, everything will be fine'. Roosters are a crap shoot. A lot of them will not work out.

Try it different ways, it will work until it doesn't, when it doesn't, go to plan B. Have plan B set up and ready to go. It should include a long handled fish net so you can catch and pull apart fighting roosters. A crate - such as a dog crate, where you can separate roosters.

6 rooster are probably not going to work, but some of them might. Be willing to keep them until they don't, but be aware of them all the time. Roosters have ruined the whole chicken thing for a lot of people. Inexperienced people often vastly underestimate the violence of roosters.

If you have small children, I strongly recommend NO ROOSTERS until the youngest is more than 6 years old. Your experiment with trying to keep them, could end in an attack in the back of the knees, kids tend to take them in the face.

Good Luck,

Mrs K