Too many Ron's!?

[Chixenman1382]

So I have a young flock ranging from 4 to 10 weeks old. I have 15 in total probably 8 hens and the rest roosters from what I can tell so far. 3 are black star sex link roosters for sure. So I'm wondering what is the rule for how many roosters can and should be kept? Has anyone had any success keeping more than one rooster? What are the pros and cons? Chickens are kept in a barn/coop with plenty of room at night and free range during the day. My 5 known hens are larger and older at 10 weeks old. The rest are Easter Eggers and RIR around 4 weeks old sex unknown for sure but suspected there's more than one rooster in that bunch also. Thanks in advance for help opinions and advice.

 

[junebuggena]

A general guideline is 10 hens per one rooster. Cockerels mature sooner than the pullets, which can lead to very stressed out pullets. Cockerels that grow up without any mature hens to keep them in line as they mature tend to be more problematic. Cockerels are not really a great idea for first timers, either.
If you really just can't stand the idea of rehoming them or having them end up becoming dinner, then you can build them a bachelor coop and run, out of sight of the females.

 

[lazy gardener]

If you choose to keep a roo, start now, by training all of the cockrels to respect humans. Often, the friendliest cockrels, the ones that get handled the most are the ones who become most aggressive. I keep a do not handle policy in place for any suspected cockrels, and any aggressive behaviors get met with immediate correction. Since managing them that way, I've not had any cockrels that have demonstrated human aggression. My one roo happily services up to 24 hens, and he'd manage more, with good fertility, if he could find them. He's an excellent Daddy, loves his babies, and takes good care of his hens.

 

[Chixenman1382]

A general guideline is 10 hens per one rooster. Cockerels mature sooner than the pullets, which can lead to very stressed out pullets. Cockerels that grow up without any mature hens to keep them in line as they mature tend to be more problematic. Cockerels are not really a great idea for first timers, either. 
If you really just can't stand the idea of rehoming them or having them end up becoming dinner, then you can build them a bachelor coop and run, out of sight of the females.

I don't have an issue with rehoming them necessarily or eating them either. I wouldn't mind building them their own coop either. Problem is my chicken s free range and I am not sure how I could build them a space out of the hens view. I do have 3 known roos that are sex link and I think I will start with rehoming them. Then if I have more than one rooster left I'll build them a place or put them on the dinner table.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My extra roosters are always penned where everyone can see them. It causes no troubles and the rooster feel included in the flock. If they are ever released they join the flock without any problems.

 

[lazy gardener]

My grow out coop/bachelor pad is right beside the other coop. The cockrels do just fine in plain sight of the laying flock. Some of them will tid bit through the fence. When I let my big flock out to free range, they run for that old coop which is a 8 x 12 cattle panel with a 4 x 8 loft. They LOVE that coop, and when it's empty, they'd rather hang out there than in their own space.

 

[ILuvMyFlock]

It is possible to keep every rooster whilst separating the hens so no rooster has to die, of course rehoming a few can also be an option.

 

[bobbi-j]

It is possible to keep every rooster whilst separating the hens so no rooster has to die, of course rehoming a few can also be an option.

While it is possible, it's not practical for people who don't have unlimited funds to feed nonproductive birds, or the space to keep them all.

Personally, I hope for cockerels to put in the freezer. I'd rather do that than rehome them since I don't know what kind of conditions they'll be going to. By raising and processing them myself, I know they had the best life possible, even if it was short. I know that they were killed as humanely as possible when the time came.

 

[aart]

Quote: Ditto Dat^^^!!!

While I don't hope for cockerels, I definitely see them as dinner.
Mine are in the freezer by 16 weeks,
while still tender enough for the grill and crispy skin deliciousness(grilled bones make fantastic stock),
and before the hormones surge and the subsequent chaos makes the pullets lives a misery.

 

[ILuvMyFlock]

Mine will never have to worry about being slaughtered here.
I'm glad I have the means to raise all the Roos I can just so they won't ever have to worry about being someone's dinner.
Even if I am the only one with a compassionate mindset, I can still have hope that the world still does have good in it, even if it's just a glimmer.

A lot of it is just an excuse to butcher, saying things like how they'll die humanely there or how at least one knows they the Roos were cared for... and how it's too expensive to raise a bird that don't give back... Etc,
If I may be so bold; slaughtering a bird because it's a roo is never humane, it still suffers and dies. It's not expensive at all to house roosters, and it's not expensive to rehome the Roos can be sold. There are people I'm sure out there that are like me who are willing to take in roosters to live their lives in a sanctuary of sorts. It takes hardly anything to pour out just a little pile of feed even if the feed has to be rationed closely, the Roos can eat grass and bugs too. I know it's not hard because I own I don't know how many Roos of various ages and sizes so I know it's possible. Lastly the Roos to give back, but sadly a butcher will never see that the roo not only has the potential to give love for the owner and protection for the flock, but the roo like us feels pain and even sorrow. I guess continuous butchering and making cruel jokes about that could make one cold to this fact. A chicken knows when they'll be butchered, the fear, disappointed, and sorrow runs deep... The butcher thinks it was quick and humane but that's not always the case or even the truth. If a human can acknowledge things for so many seconds after being beheaded then the same applies to a chicken even more so, in fact there was a chicken many years ago that was to be slaughtered but by some miracle it had enough left perhaps it was the spinal cord working with some brain stem? At any rate the chicken was headless but lived, it's will to survive shocked the owner, so the owner let it live, sadly the bird had no head, the owner had to feed and water it straight down its throat, it's true look it up, and later the bird was put in the circus.