When the poster said "it is genetic and can't be fixed" I think they were referring to curing that specific bird, not a multi-generation breed out of the problem "gene"They are quite tasty even when small...
I used to cage separately when I was still figuring out the best way to fatten them and keep a peaceful flock, but really it seems best done through breeding, and free ranging them until cull day is best for our health. I maintain a steady adult population of both genders and any misbehaving teens of either gender will be punished by the adults. I used to have rampant cockerel issues for a very brief time but haven't had for many generations; I started blaming the fathers for the sins of the sons, so to speak, and it seems to apply. Roosters who mistreat or disrespect hens tend to breed those notoriously bad cockerels. Originally I too thought it was just puberty. Breed gentleman roosters and you get very well mannered boys. Win-win!
However while you're figuring out how you feel is best to deal with your issue there, caging them in sight of the hens is probably best, it'll give them something to look at besides eachother. If too bored too quickly they may start turning that bad behaviour on eachother. If you're going to release them once incarcerating them, they will be a blight on the flock, best to maintain freeranging or caging. One or the other. One nasty cockerel I culled young would not let the other boys off the perch to feed, defeating the whole purpose of caging to fatten, which I found doesn't work well anyway... Not for me.
It is a very thick tarry liquid, not like the tar used on roads, but not like water though it gets quite runny on hot days. I thought it would stain and dirty feathers and fur but have found it absorbs straight in like it was never there, bar an after-scent. I don't use the diluted stuff, just pure Stockholm tar. Costs $9 a liter and so far a liter has lasted me three years and is still about a fifth full and has saved a bunch of lives as well as healed human injuries and infections. It's nowhere near strong enough to remove feathers.
For all the reasons SallyinIndiana said, and also because I have multiple family lines that I cross carefully and need multiple roosters to avoid inbreeding; if I had only one rooster at a time, my girls would get old waiting for their best usage as breeding hens, but with multiple roosters, during each hen's breeding lifetime I can identify the best matches, make trial breedings, inbreed when I need to investigate a defective sign that's cropping up, etc... Also if you keep just one rooster, when/if you decide to breed for meat or get more to breed, there will likely be strife, since even roosters from a multiple rooster home can become intolerant of other males really fast when kept with only hens. I invest in their future offspring's attitudes by maintaining multiple males.
Random off topic idea: selling 'pre-loaded' flock-starting hens. I have done this before and wonder if there might be an industry niche for it. You basically sell a hen that's mated with one or more roosters, if multiple then in fairly quick succession. If she's a proven broody and mother, that's the start of someone's chook farm, lol! Since a hen can be 'pregnant' with the offspring of many different roosters at once, for the purposes of those wanting random surprise babies, it's been kinda popular. I've also sold combos of proven chook hen mothers with turkey chicks they've just hatched, for those starting their turkey flocks. Some people sure have some random requests...
And will mate with many more than he can fertilize the eggs from, in my experience.
I have only encountered one rooster who could fertilize as often as he mated, and he was a full-size silkie crossed with a mongrel. He and the hen that liked him the most could mate in a split second, literally; he would come running across the yard, she would do a spin-about on the spot to present her rear to him, sit, and he would go flying over the top of her and it was done. He didn't hold on, didn't put his feet on her, didn't even touch her beyond the 'cloacal kiss' --- he literally ricocheted over her. Split second matings, no exaggeration! I was inundated with his offspring, lol, good eating, but I still can't believe he managed to breed with basically every single hen for as long as I kept him (a few years). None of the other boys, despite their efforts, got a look-in.
My seemingly most virile rooster, on the other hand, was about 95% infertile. He would mate over and over and over again in a minute with the same hen, and it took me years to get a grand total of one chick from him, and she wasn't anything great. He came from a Black Australorp, Buff Orp, Light Sussex, Leghorn (and a few others) breeder and was a mix, black and pale gold, very fancy but effectively useless.
Some genetic issues can be fixed, but it takes time, patience, resources, knowledge, and a host of other attributes most of us (myself included) do not have in sufficient quantity. I have bred out a bunch of issues but with some I just join the cull crew... Way too time consuming, too far gone, too difficult to fix, etc. I applaud and admire the efforts of those maintaining and rebuilding heritage breeds of anything but personally it is something I would need to read another few libraries' worth about before I feel game to tackle it. Keen but too busy otherwise. Too new, got too much to learn right now. Etc.
