More roos! Suggestions on how to get rid of them and how to get hens?!

[chickita]

We recently found out that we now have 4 more roosters! We gave 1 away to the farmer down the road, but still have 3 more! Any ideas on how I can find them a new home?

We now have 6 hens that are 3 months old and we'd like to double it to 12. (We are fairly new and purchased bantams and learned that their eggs aren't very big) So, any suggestions on a hardy type - good , large egg layers? Do I need to find other hens that are the same age or can I mix them into the group? (We have aracaunas and buff japanese) The girls' chicken chalet is on the edge of wooded property and we have predators everywhere. (hawks, coyote...) They are free-ranging and have been sticking together.

Thanks very much!

 

[Chickenaddict]

I would post an ad on craigslist for free roos which is the only way i could rehome mine, if i put a price on them i get the run around and noone shows but if they are free they usually go quick. About the bantam eggs, they get bigger as the hens mature. I have a flock of bantams and the first year the eggs were pretty small but now they are almost as big if not as big as a large egg in the grocery store.

 

[SterlingAcres]

You can try to auction them or sell them here in the BST section.

Welcome to BYC.

If you want reliable layers, you could try sexlinks. I hear they lay quite often. Try this site, they'll tell you what you want to know: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

 

[feathersgalore]

I agree with chickenaddict, I've given several roosters away on craigslist. They usually are there more than a day or two.

 

[Beekissed]

You could eat the roosters, sell the banties and start all over with an order of chicks, or buy some laying pullets from the classifieds.

I would also not be freeranging in a setup like yours if you wish to keep your chickens intact. Not unless I had a real good LGD. You may get by with it for awhile, but eventually your abundant predators are going to discover your bird buffet.

 

[dancingbear]

Quote:
I have mostly wooded property, and free-range my birds. Once in a while, I lose one. Mostly they do fine, and they love being able to roam around and get bugs and greens.


You may want to figure out some sort of movable pen-and-tractor arrangement, where the chooks could still wander a bit, have fresh foraging ground, but still have some protection.

We have a lot of predators around here, too, but I've really only had serious predation 2 years out of 11, at this location. Our last place, the only predator we had trouble with was a neighbors dog, and later, a stray that somebody dumped.

As long as they're in a secure place at night, most of time you won't have a problem. There's a thing called a scoot-and-hide, too. It's just 4 cinder blocks or some such for corners, with a sheet of metal roofing or painted plywood set on top of them, and more cinder blocks on the corners of your roofing tin or plywood, so it won't blow off in a strong wind. These give a good cover for your birds to duck under if there's a aerial predator, or even a dog. Unless it's a small dog, it won't be able to duck under the "hide". You can use all kinds of thing for this, even old satellite dishes, the big ones.