Roo Trouble: HELP

[hmoran]

This is my first time at chickens. I have 9 Black Copper Marans. We got them from a farm as baby chicks, so they have grown up together. I have 5 hens and 4 roos. My chickens are now 11 weeks old. I have a rooster that seems older, though. My hens have started to loose some feathers on their back, so I think it is because I have too many roos. I separated two of my roos in a separate cage (the two roos are together so they have company). They are still all together in the same big coop. What do think about them being together in the same big coop, but the two roosters caged in a smaller cage inside the bigger coop? My husband is going to kill the two roosters for dinner (our first time) . Do you think it is okay to have the other two roosters with the 5 hens. We plan to add more hens next year. Our coop is big about 8 X 10 size with a run and we let them free range too. Let me know your thoughts on...
1. The rooster set-up and separation
2. The amount of roosters
3. If the roosters are old enough to eat
4. Any suggestions for a novice

Thank You!!!

 

[cwcochran1961]

Im no expert but I think you need more hens or less roosters. your hens will be overworked by those roos

 

[Kelsie2290]

Agree, you need more hens or less roosters. Most people seem to recommend 10 hens per rooster.
One question though, are you sure the roosters are doing the feather damage? 11 weeks is pretty young for BCM roosters to be that active.
Keeping the two roosters separate but inside the coop sounds fine. I would process the two and then either keep the other roosters in there a good amount of time until you get more hens, or until you see how it is going. A lot of times a rooster will have favorite hens and those can still get overworked. It is always a good idea to have an area where you can separate the birds from each other in case of injury or when somebody just needs a timeout.
What age to process at is pretty much up to you, obviously the older they are the bigger they are, usually large breed birds like that seem to be done best around 4-5 months, but no reason not to do them sooner if you don't mind a smaller carcass, they all make good soup