Hi everyone, I am wondering how to organize my flock with the least amount of stress & fighting. We've only ever had hens. Last winter we hatched some eggs and got 3 roosters to add to our 22 hens. The roosters get alone fine together.
In May, we got 60 day-old birds (unsexed) and have a number of roosters in the mix, though not as many as you would expect -- probably only about 15 or so. They also get along well, though they are only coming up on 21 weeks right now. The 2 flocks are in 2 separate coops and the outdoor run is separated by a wire fence so they can see & hear each other but not touch. We also have a 3rd coop that we use for chicks, though it's empty at the moment.
The new birds are now about as large as the older birds. We want to keep at least 1 rooster from each type of chicken (White & Partridge Chantecler, Jersey Giant, Orpington, Rhode Island Red) to hatch our own eggs in the spring.
We plan to keep about 60 of the birds through the winter and the rest will end up in the freezer.
So... does anyone have any advice on how we should organize the flocks? Should we separate layers from broilers which could mean a disproportionate number of roosters to hens in one of the coops?
Should we keep all the roosters together or will they kill each other? (With cattle, if you have more than one bull among cows, there are problems but a herd of strictly bulls seems to get along fine as long as there are no ladies present).
Should we just open the gates between the coops and let them organize themselves?
RIght now, they're all getting a layer ration but when it comes time to cull the birds, we want to switch to a broiler ration for the birds we're not keeping, to increase their size.
I have no idea how to make the transition as peaceful as possible. If there is no other way, then we would cull the roosters now, although they could still get bigger if we wait another few months (the Jersey Giants are slow-growing).
Any advice would be appreciated!
In May, we got 60 day-old birds (unsexed) and have a number of roosters in the mix, though not as many as you would expect -- probably only about 15 or so. They also get along well, though they are only coming up on 21 weeks right now. The 2 flocks are in 2 separate coops and the outdoor run is separated by a wire fence so they can see & hear each other but not touch. We also have a 3rd coop that we use for chicks, though it's empty at the moment.
The new birds are now about as large as the older birds. We want to keep at least 1 rooster from each type of chicken (White & Partridge Chantecler, Jersey Giant, Orpington, Rhode Island Red) to hatch our own eggs in the spring.
We plan to keep about 60 of the birds through the winter and the rest will end up in the freezer.
So... does anyone have any advice on how we should organize the flocks? Should we separate layers from broilers which could mean a disproportionate number of roosters to hens in one of the coops?
Should we keep all the roosters together or will they kill each other? (With cattle, if you have more than one bull among cows, there are problems but a herd of strictly bulls seems to get along fine as long as there are no ladies present).
Should we just open the gates between the coops and let them organize themselves?
RIght now, they're all getting a layer ration but when it comes time to cull the birds, we want to switch to a broiler ration for the birds we're not keeping, to increase their size.
I have no idea how to make the transition as peaceful as possible. If there is no other way, then we would cull the roosters now, although they could still get bigger if we wait another few months (the Jersey Giants are slow-growing).
Any advice would be appreciated!
