Too many rowdy lil' roos?

[anniemary]

This is my first time doing meat birds. I order a straight run of 50 FR's, now down to 49. They have quickly grown out of the brooder and are now in a sectioned off portion of our coop house. They are four weeks old. As soon as my husband puts the final touches on the Saltin-type chicken tractor, we will be moving them out onto the yard in about 2-3 days.

There sure seems to be ALOT of little roo's! The testosterone level is quite high and they are really getting mean with each other.

Will this behavior calm down some once I get them outside and busy foraging? Are they going to survive another six weeks with each other? I'm starting to wonder....

Please let me know your experiences and if I should be doing something differently.

Thanks!!

 

[anniemary]

PS, some still prefer to sit under the heat lamp. It's still chilly at night (down to 50). Is it too cold to put them outside yet at 4 weeks?

 

[Elke Beck]

My Reed Ranger boys were a nuisance from about 6 weeks old until I sent them to the Cone of Silence at about 11 weeks. They beat each other up, annoyed the girls and crowed at 5:30 a.m.

 

[Life is Good!]

Our FR's last spring - 25 chicks, 17 cockerals! Eep! That's a lot of 'manliness' to keep from getting bored.

Yes, getting outside certainly helped them a LOT. They got to run and forage. However, they started trying to crow at about 8wks, full crow by 10wks and yes, in the tractor, there was no way to prevent the noise from travelling. We're suburban acreage, but still, wish to be kind to the neighbors!

I also found giving them treats helped aleviate boredom for those days they just seemed truly out of sorts. I'd make a batch of cornbread and put in some flax seeds and frozen veggies - cut into 'chicken' sized pieces which I'd throw to them so they'd have to run for it. Worked well for both exercise AND interest. They'd fill their crops, and sit down for a while to digest....