Should I get rid of them?

Keep all the roosters or get rid of them?

  • Keep

    Votes: 4 40.0%
  • Get rid of

    Votes: 6 60.0%

  • Total voters
    10

5hens&aroo

Songster
5 Years
Joined
Apr 20, 2018
Messages
157
Reaction score
324
Points
171
Location
Kentucky
Alright y’all. I need some advice. I’m trying to decide if I have to many roosters in my flock. I have 13 chickens all together. 3 roosters and 10 hens. I haven’t had any problems with the roosters yet. They are all friendly with me and each other. However, they are only thirteen weeks old and I’m not sure if as they mature if they will become to aggressive with each other and the hens. The breeds of the roosters are Black Australorp, Rhode Island Red and a Barred Rock. My hens are Gold lace Wyandottes, RIR, EEs and White Rocks. What do y’all think I should do?
 

Attachments

  • 3AEE08AA-D3CC-420C-B300-AC70019B10E3.jpeg
    3AEE08AA-D3CC-420C-B300-AC70019B10E3.jpeg
    595.8 KB · Views: 35
You don't want to keep them all. It may get bad and hens will be overmated. A 10:1 ratio is best.
Of course cockerels are nice and calm but in a few more weeks they'll want to start breeding - all the time.
It is possible to keep more males but it is more complicated.
Who you keep is up to you.
With your mix of birds, if you want any pure offspring than just barnyard mixes, keep the RIR.
 
Get rid of at least two cockerels. Ten hens can deal with more than one rooster. More than one cockerel? Especially without an adult rooster to keep them in line? Taking into account that you have Barred rocks and RIRs which are both hatchery production breeds know for being fast-maturing and aggressive, I would definitely keep only one.
 
What are your goals? Why do you want any males? The only reason you need any males is if you want fertile eggs. Everything else is just personal preference.

My suggestions is to keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed problems with more males, just that problems are more likely. Why make it harder on yourself than you have to?

One of those GLW looks pretty masculine to me, you may have four.
 
After reading Ridgerunner's comment about the birds, I looked at the picture. You'll need to redo your roosts by winter unless you have very warm winters. Round roost poles in sub-freezing temperatures won't allow them to cover their toes with their feathers at night and may result in frostbitten toes.
2X3s or 2X4s wide side up work.

Nice looking birds though. I really like white rocks.
 
Personally I would not change the roosts. My coldest temperatures are usually only a little below zero Fahrenheit which I'd think is fairly similar to most of Kentucky. I've never had a problem with chickens having cold feet or frostbite. When mine squat down on the roosts in winter and fluff up their feathers their feet disappear in those feathers.

Roost1.JPG
Roost2.JPG
 
Alright y’all. I need some advice. I’m trying to decide if I have to many roosters in my flock. I have 13 chickens all together. 3 roosters and 10 hens. I haven’t had any problems with the roosters yet. They are all friendly with me and each other. However, they are only thirteen weeks old and I’m not sure if as they mature if they will become to aggressive with each other and the hens. The breeds of the roosters are Black Australorp, Rhode Island Red and a Barred Rock. My hens are Gold lace Wyandottes, RIR, EEs and White Rocks. What do y’all think I should do?
I would keep the Australorp, they are usually nice:)
 
If this is your first year with chickens or if you have children under 4 years of age, I would recommend getting rid of all of your roosters. I think roosters need some experience. First year people often times do not recognize the warning signs of an aggressive rooster. Roosters in my opinion take a bit of experience.

If you have had a flock for years, have mature hens, well then I would cull one bird, wait a bit and then cull a second bird. Roosters raised up in a multi-generational flock tend to be taught some manners by those older girls. If they are raised up with just pullets, you can get a nice rooster, but most often, they get bigger than the other pullets, and just become bullies and abuse the pullets because they are so much bigger. In just a hatch mate flock, I recommend culling the roosters or pulling them into a bachelor pad away from the pullets.

As to the roost discussion, (that you did not ask for) I would pull up the bottom, and make the roosts horizontal all one level, but lower than the ceiling, at about 25 inches below the roost. In SD, we do get wickedly cold weather (-25 to -30) I have never got frozen toes on round roosts, but I have had frost bite on combs. If the combs are too close to the ceiling, water tends to condense and rain down on the birds. They need a good air flow ABOVE their heads. Dry birds are warm birds.
 
What are your goals? Why do you want any males? The only reason you need any males is if you want fertile eggs. Everything else is just personal preference.

My suggestions is to keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed problems with more males, just that problems are more likely. Why make it harder on yourself than you have to?

One of those GLW looks pretty masculine to me, you may have four.
This is the GLW. I thought it may be a rooster but wasn’t to sure?
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom