Two weeks in and we are all surviving

[gobblers 58]

We will begin construction of our coop within the next week or so and have heard that the males and females should be separated but we have no idea when this should take place; can anyone out there help?

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us, though I wish it were under better circumstances!

If your chicks are only 2 weeks old there is no need to separate males from females at this point. In fact, there is nothing that says you ever have to separate them, as long as your ratios of hens to roosters is good. Generally, you do not want more than 1 rooster for every 8-10 hens by the time they hit puberty. Having more roosters than that can lead to stressed out and overbred hens who end up losing lots of feathers in the process. Do you have a set number of birds to keep in mind? Do you know how many of them are going to be roosters?

 

[drumstick diva]

glad to hear that. You don't need to keep males, maybe you can rehome them as their identity is revealed. Glad you joined us at BYC.

 

[N F C]

LOL, survival is good! What breeds of chickens do you have? If you need help identifying the genders of your birds, you can post photos here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this

Good luck with your flock, it's nice to have you here!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[gobblers 58]

We have 4 RI white. 2 black sex links and 1 red sex link currently but we get more at the end of the month.

 

[gobblers 58]

Our chicks are doing great!!!! So much so that we brought home 13 more. none are roosters (as far as we know right now); we have layers and broilers. is it okay to put them together in the same coop or do we need to separate the girls and fellows? we know we can't put the new ones in without a good introduction.

 

[gobblers 58]

we have 2 roosters; didn't expect that. the coop 8x8 is almost complete. its going to be sweet and i believe our layers will love it. the males and the oldest rooster will be in a area that is sectioned off from the rest as to not have any issues. the first 4 males in our flock are 14 weeks old and will be dressed for the freezer soon. once that is accomplished (we have never done this) we will clean and place the younger males in that area. will send pics and updates soon.