Newbie needs advice

[nrachick]

Greetings,

I am new to this forum and to raising chickens. I have ended up with 5 roosters and 5 hens. They were all given to me and were a couple months old when I got them. I have 1 leghorn rooster, 2 Rhode Island red hens, 3 andalusion hens and 4 andalusion roosters. The andalusion roosters are causing a lot of stress on the hens, they are very noisy and they attack my leghorn rooster quite often. I know there are way to many roosters and u have to get rid of them. It sucks because I like them all a lot and the roosters are very beautiful. I have decided I need to cull the roosters and want to know if people eat andulusions and when they are old/big enough to do so. I am not sure of how old they are, but I've had them for about 5 months. I will try to attach a picture and hopefully you can let me know if they are ready.

 

[nrachick]

 

[nrachick]

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[N F C]

Welcome to BYC!

You're right, that's too many roos per hen. The recommended ratio is I believe 1 roo per 8-10 hens. As far as when is a good time to cull them, that's up to you. Do you know how much they weigh? If you aren't ready to get rid of them, you could separate the roos into their own space or try to re-home them using Craigslist or on the Buy-Sell-Trade forum of BYC (once you have at least 20 posts).

Good luck with your birds.

 

[nrachick]

 

[nrachick]

The guy that gave them to me said he'd take them back and give me hens for them and I tried to catch them today but it is impossible since I did not raise them from chicks they don't let me pick them up. They stay close to me and follow me around but when I reach for them they take off. I could try to get creative and catch them, but he said he is going to butcher them anyways. Also, should I keep one around to breed as I would like to do that in the spring? They were all together and the same age when I got them so there is a possibility they are siblings. Should I just buy a different rooster to breed them? Thank you I have so many questions .

 

[Chickie Baby]

nrachick,
I've always had luck catching mine with a fishing net. They do need to be in the run when you're trying to catch them. And, not sure how effective it will be after you've caught the first one. The others may not let you anywhere near them once they see a friend get snatched. I just hold it over them to the ground, grab the rooster (with a good hold) through the net and pull the net back over.

Good Luck!!!!

 

[nrachick]

Thanks, I may try that have to go buy a net. Are they big enough to eat yet or should I hold off until they are bigger? And should I keep one?

 

[aart]

You might be able to keep 1 with 5 hens, and maybe not.
You'll have to watch close to make sure he doesn't over-mate them, be ready to remove him to another pen/cage asap if that happens.

You can eat them at any age.....younger won't have as much meat on them, older than 4-5 months will need to be cooked low and slow or may be tough.
Make sure you let the butchered and cleaned bird set in the refrigerator for at least 48-72 hours before cooking.

 

[N F C]

You might be able to keep 1 with 5 hens, and maybe not.
You'll have to watch close to make sure he doesn't over-mate them, be ready to remove him to another pen/cage asap if that happens.

You can eat them at any age.....younger won't have as much meat on them, older than 4-5 months will need to be cooked low and slow or may be tough.
Make sure you let the butchered and cleaned bird set in the refrigerator for at least 48-72 hours before cooking.

Hi aart,
I've seen others mention letting the chicken sit for a while before cooking but haven't ever seen the reasoning behind it. Why is this done? Just curious, I'm not ready (and neither are my chickens, lol) to process any but we're thinking of meat birds next year so I've been trying to learn more about them.
Thanks!