Too many Roo's - What do I do?

[littledirtlane]

Ok - so apparently - the roos like me. That is all I can seem to get around here. I have 4 coops. 1 big A-Frame, 2 small "upcycled" rabbit hutches that have been turned into proper coops that are appropriate for a quad each, and I have 1 standard hutch with no ground access that will fit 5. My chicken kids free range for an hour and a half 2x's a day.

I have a quad of silkies that were supposed to be 3 hens and one roo. Now I have 4 roos...plus a sizzle roo and another PQ silkie roo. I have cochins as well - 2 hens, 4 dag-gone roos. I have 3 laying hens too. One of the laying hens is new, she is full grown and she is not getting along with the others, so she is in her own coop...I have run out of room because of all of these little issues. I can't decide which ones to keep. Some of them are friendlier than others, but other have better foot feathering, or crests or coloring.

I have 2 Silver Partridge Roos...I am worried that I will not be able to find a pullet as it is kind of a rare color. I don't know what to do...and who to put where...my white silkie roo has just claimed the "alpha" spot and he is in with all of my other silkies, but there are a lot of feathers in the coop....I think he is beating them up when I am not looking...I am almost tempted to sell all of my cochins together, but I have some GORGEOUS cochins and I really want them...

Here is the big thing...I have I have 40 silkie eggs in incubators, and I have 12 silkie chicks in the brooder...I want to raise B/B/S, White, Silver Partridge and Calico Silkies....should i just give up on cochins? What do I do with all of these roos...I need advice...I am a little nuts here...

 

[sourland]

You have to make the decision as to what you keep or get rid of. Bottom line is you have way too many roosters for the number of hens, and some must go before disaster strikes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am not going to study that hard enough to figure out what you have going on, let alone trying to fugure out what your goals are concerning keeping chickens. Once you figure out what you want, you have some decisions to make. I don't necessarily believe you have too many roosters, depending on what your goals are. You can manage that with certain management techniques, like bachlor pads. These three threads may give you some information to help make that decision.

Number of roosters thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=219443

Managing multiple roosters
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=229968

Breeders managing roosters
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=250327

Good luck!

 

[Miss Lydia]

well we just took care of our having too many roos this morning. They are now cooling in the freezer. This is the second time we've had to butcher and it was a tad easier than the first. We know we have some chickens that are all natural for cooking and we will enjoy the chicken and dumplings we will have this fall. I did advertise 2 different places but noone wants roosters evidently.

 

[littledirtlane]

Thank you so much! This helps alot! I am just running out of pens and I hate to see them fight - They are starting to lose some feathers in their top knots - and I hate that...but I guess I better just let them work it out...I can't eat them...although sometimes I wish I had the nerve...lol.