How many should I keep?

[B. Kossum]

I've got 8 brown coturnix (2 roosters) and 10 A&M's of unknown sex (will know a week or so hopefully). They are in a 15 square foot cage rabbit hutch and that is probably where they will stay for good. I'm really just using them for eggs now until I get an incubator. I want to keep some roosters for that time. I'll probably just let them interbreed until I get more serious about it. Should I keep my hen/cock ratio normal for now (3-4 to 1) or maybe cut back to just a couple and then breed to get more? I realize with the small number of birds I have now I will have to get more outside blood, but I don't want to cut down so small that I can't breed you know. Heck, I don't know lol? I guess what I'm asking is if you guys had 18 birds (2 known cocks) in 15 square feet and you wanted to breed later on, what would you do? I know the cage is a little small, but I keep it clean and I have a small cage that a few of them can get out on the ground in so they are alright.

Hope someone can make some sense of all this lol.

 

[Fat Daddy]

I would eat the white roos. If you have a 50\\50 hen-roo ratio, you would have 11 hens and the roos you have can handle that with ease. If its white and crows, its dinner.... keep all the rest. Bill

 

[B. Kossum]

Why the white roos? To be honest I like the brown ones better anyways, so it wouldn't be a problem lol. Is there a genetic reason to get rid of the white roos? Just wondering if it had something to do with breeding or what.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Fat Daddy]

Not the white roos that are a problem, You'll just too many if half the new birds are roos. The old roos are established in you existing flock. Some need to culled, eat the new roos.... Well, I would tag them as they crowed till I knew for sure how many I had. Then eat any I considered extra, and end up with the perfect hen\
oo ratio. BTW, I would say 6 or 7 hens to each roo myself. Bill

 

[JJMR794]

COMON Y'ALL THIS IS A FAMILY FORUM... LETS NOT BE RACIST HERE--- EAT 1 OF EACH!

 

[Rainwolf]

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[B. Kossum]