roosters being roosters

[johny]

My twelve and a half week old Buff Orpington roosters are starting to crow loud and frequently.
At least two are chasing hens and biting their back feathers.
The problem with crowing is that I live with neighbours who may not appreciate the noise.

I have 7 roosters and 9 pullets. The coop is 60 square feet and the run is 72 square feet. The long term plan is to have just 5-6 hens.

Trouble is that the roosters still feel thin. Not much meat on them yet. I really want to hold off on butchering as long as possible to let them grow bigger.

If I culled just the three biggest roosters do you think it might reduce the aggression to the hens and the amount of crowing?

Do roosters crow more often or chase hens more, if there are too many roosters together?

 

[pgpoultry]

Roosters definitely crow more with others around...they have competitions. reducing the number will reduce the noise. Roosters will generally always chase hens, it's what they are programmed to do.The more roosters, the more chasing.

However, if you cull the three biggest roosters the next three in the line will take over in the dominance stakes....it's the way they work.

I had the same problem with hatching 9 roosters from 11 eggs. Being vegetarian (ovo-lacto) I couldn't face the culling bit. It took forever to find new homes for them, and I guess some ended up getting eaten.

Could you separate off the boys that you don't want to hang on to? It may be a way forward until you cull them,

Sandie