My 3 "hens" are really 2 roos and a hen and a weird dynamic. Help!

[idahomama]

So, I ultimately started out with 7 straight run buff orpingtons in March. 4 developed right away into roos and I sold them to a nearby farm.

Then, one of my 3 remaining 'hens' started crowing and acting aggressive so I decided he is going to freezer camp - I just haven't had the time to do it yet. Last week, one of the other hens started crowing - arhhh!!!!

I'm not sure what to do. I can't kill both roos and have one hen from my research. Rooster A is very aggressive towards the hen and my daughter but doesn't care about rooster B. Rooster B attacks Rooster A but is nice to the hen. For the last week, I've have rooster B in the coop with the hen and rooster A has been separated in the dog house with a free range run.

I could theoretically keep rooster B and the hen but my partner who was not on the chicken train to begin with does NOT appreciate the crowing at 5 a.m. - plus, I'd really like 3 hens for our egg needs.

If I do decided to cull or sell both roosters - do I get new hens before or after? How long can a hen be alone? Do I need to find a similar age (they are ~ 17 weeks)? The feed store where I got them does not have any more chickens so where would I go about getting 2 hens? so many questions for this newbie

thank you!!!!!!!!

 

[Poupoulles]

try craigslist! I have found/traded many random chickens on craigslist.

 

[cmom]

I agree, try craigslist.

 

[CMV]

I don't have any helpful comments, just a few questions. Where did you get these straight run birds? I mean, did you choose them from a big batch of chicks and just happened to grab 6 roosters of 7 birds, or were they shipped to you? Theoretically you should have gotten 50% males and 50% females, or close to that. I am shocked that you got that many roosters. I have never dealt with straight run birds because I have always suspected that the roos heavily outnumber the pullets, so I am curious the circumstances behind your story.

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

I got straight run from the feed store and the ratio appears to be 50-50. Of course the person scooping birds into the box for your shipment might have coincidentally got more roos than hens, but it does seem strange.

 

[HickChick Wannabe]

Just wondering, how young were the first ones when it was determined that they were roos? I was told that you can't tell for a while (at least with BO's) and pullets' combs can develop faster than the cockerels' and you won't know until later, when the roos catch up. That might help explain the skewed ratio of males to females. Can anyone else back that up?

 

[idahomama]

I got the chicks from a local feed store. The store clerk and I picked them out of the tank so I guess we either did a really bad job or the ratio was wayyy off.

I knew some of them were roos around 12-13 weeks when they were crowing. I really didn't expect it then but I guess they were ready to tell me

UPDATE: I called the farm who took my first batch of roos and they are trading me for 2 orphinton pullets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One is coming tonight when they come to take the roos and the other is a bit younger so it'll be a few weeks at least