Too many Roosters - what do we do?

[backdooreggs]

I know the obvious response for many might be to eat chicken ... But we hatched the little guys are we are brand new to this ... Is their any other option? Also, which Roo do we keep? I'm leaning towards a fuzzy , very nonaggressive one ;he is the first to crow so I kind of feel like he deserves to be rooster ... And he was my favorite chick . They are all different breeds- I think fuzzy is a Cochin ? Only one is super assertive borderline aggressive- but I m attached to him too because we thought he was a dud egg but we heard him cheep from inside and he survived a difficult hatch .

 

[sphinxface]

Sell them?

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! As aart said recently, this is where Romance and Reality intersect. How many pullets do you have? How many hens do you plan to keep? One cockrel is plenty unless you have more than 12 or 15 females. If you plan to keep even one male, start sorting them now. Human aggressive cockrels need to be someone's dinner, if not yours, then there will be someone eager to help you out. Nice polite cockrels might find homes elsewhere, if they are very nice looking, and someone is looking for that breed. By fall, you should know if any of them are worth keeping, and in spring, if he decides to be a jerk, try again next year. Cochins do tend to be very nice, so maybe he's the one. Mary

 

[backdooreggs]

Thanks Mary . We only have four girls - five roosters. I don't know why but I never considered those odds ... I thought maybe one or two. But thanks for your advice !

 

[backdooreggs]

The assertive one ... and the fuzzy crower

 

[Kev]

They are both very mixed breeds. The fuzzy one has what's called silky feathering, the same as on the silkie breed of chicken. It is definitely not a silkie breed though.

If you like the fuzziness, keep him.

If you mean assertive as in he sometimes charges or bites people.. those kinds will become nightmares once they grow up and take out all the fun in keeping chickens. Mellow roosters are a pleasure so go with mellow instead of assertive, especially as you;re a first time owner apparently?

I totally understand emotionally wanting to keep all/most but the reality as above says will hit later when they are mature and making life horrible for the girls... on the other hand it is not a bad idea to wait until the boys are a little older to see which one is the best match for you and get rid of the others as they're still all very young.

Options.. sell, give away, make a separate coop of boys only for the girls' sake... get lots more girls...

It will seem hard but truly, if you don't or cant get more chickens, it would be the kindest thing to do by parting with all except one boy. Go with the boy that integrates the best with the flock and has no attitude towards people.

 

[junebuggena]

Thanks Mary . We only have four girls - five roosters. I don't know why but I never considered those odds ... I thought maybe one or two. But thanks for your advice !

Hatch rate for boys to girls is usually about 50/50. So your hatch rate was totally normal.

 

[backdooreggs]

Thanks everyone!