Mating two different breeds?

[bobbi-j]

Honestly, I've never been a "This many square feet per chicken" person. I watch my birds. If they seem content, aren't fighting, feather picking or showing other signs of being crowded, I know we're good. That yours free range will be helpful, but if you get a bunch of cockerels you may need to separate them from the girls as they get to breeding age. A couple of years ago, I had 50 straight-run chicks running around (I hatched half and ordered half of them). It was all good and well until the cockerels (about 25 of them) reached their sexual maturity and did not leave those poor pullets alone. They chased, they harassed, they gang-bred them. So, I put all the young males in a "bachelor pad" (or, as I called it - a finishing pen), fed them out and we butchered them all. There were some BEAUTIFUL roosters in that pen, and I would love to have kept a few, but they were not right for my flock, so away they went. If you go this route, you should know that a DP rooster, or one of a laying breed will not be as meaty or have as nice a carcass as meat bird. But they will taste delicious!

 

[farmerkylie]

Honestly, I've never been a "This many square feet per chicken" person. I watch my birds. If they seem content, aren't fighting, feather picking or showing other signs of being crowded, I know we're good. That yours free range will be helpful, but if you get a bunch of cockerels you may need to separate them from the girls as they get to breeding age. A couple of years ago, I had 50 straight-run chicks running around (I hatched half and ordered half of them). It was all good and well until the cockerels (about 25 of them) reached their sexual maturity and did not leave those poor pullets alone. They chased, they harassed, they gang-bred them. So, I put all the young males in a "bachelor pad" (or, as I called it - a finishing pen), fed them out and we butchered them all. There were some BEAUTIFUL roosters in that pen, and I would love to have kept a few, but they were not right for my flock, so away they went. If you go this route, you should know that a DP rooster, or one of a laying breed will not be as meaty or have as nice a carcass as meat bird. But they will taste delicious!

So having roosters together they won't try and attack eachother and kill eachother? Also my rooster now is picking on my hens and I have 5 hens and them a bantam cockrel and my bigger cockerel picks on all of them. People are saying it's because he's trying to establish dominance but it may be that the coop is too small? Here's a pic of my coop so I think they have enough room but I'm not sure.

 

[Little Peep]

You will get mixes/Mutts like what Fred's hens said, you prob wont get any pure breds but you will get some that look like a rhode island or buff orph you will get some pretty colors though!

 

[bobbi-j]

So having roosters together they won't try and attack eachother and kill eachother? Also my rooster now is picking on my hens and I have 5 hens and them a bantam cockrel and my bigger cockerel picks on all of them. People are saying it's because he's trying to establish dominance but it may be that the coop is too small? Here's a pic of my coop so I think they have enough room but I'm not sure.

I can't tell the dimensions just by the picture, so I'm not even going to guess if it's big enough. Like I said, I just watch my birds' behavior.

In MY experience with the "roosters only" grow-out pen, the roosters did not try to attack or kill each other once they were separated from the hens. Yes, there were squabbles from time to time, but no bloody all-out fights. Once they are removed from the hens, there is really nothing for them to fight over.

I'm not sure what you mean by "picking on" the other chickens, but it does sound like your cockerel is most likely working on establishing his dominance. I wouldn't be concerned unless I saw blood.

 

[AmericanMom]

As Fred's Hens indicated, you really need to think this through. Just because someone else on the board here gets $15 for pullets, does not mean that you are going to. You need to know your market area. You also need to have a plan for the chicks you don't sell. They won't be cute and fuzzy forever. Are you ready to butcher the cockerels you can't get rid of, or are you going to say, "I can't kill him! I raised him from the time he hatched, and now I'm just too attached."? Do you have room to comfortably house the chicks you hatch if you can't sell them? This is not something to just jump into. When I have a broody hen, I let her hatch out a clutch. I do this knowing that I will be processing the extra cockerels and keeping the pullets as layers, with the plan to process the older hens. I know how much room I have, and have a plan to keep that space from becoming overcrowded. Hopefully you'll have a market for your chickens and can continue this venture.

Thank you for clarifying that, I posted from my phone and didn't have the opportunity to read back before it posted... Yes, always check your demographics before deciding to raise and sell anything! Spring and fall are my best times to sell but of course if you look on CL there are folks that thought they wanted to start raising backyard chickens only to decide they didn't and get rid of them dirt cheap. What I may be able to sell for $15 in my area, you may only get $8. out of.. You have to weigh the cost of raising them against the cost of selling at what the demand is.

 

[bobbi-j]

Thank you for clarifying that, I posted from my phone and didn't have the opportunity to read back before it posted... Yes, always check your demographics before deciding to raise and sell anything! Spring and fall are my best times to sell but of course if you look on CL there are folks that thought they wanted to start raising backyard chickens only to decide they didn't and get rid of them dirt cheap. What I may be able to sell for $15 in my area, you may only get $8. out of.. You have to weigh the cost of raising them against the cost of selling at what the demand is.

There is that, too.