So, we have these four chicks. I love them. But it is clear that 3 of them are roosters and the other one might be a hen. The three roos are constantly at each other and the "maybe hen" minds her own business. They are 8'ish weeks old. What am I supposed do with the roos? They clearly hate each other. They levitate and try to kick each other with their feet. But then they snuggle together. We have a friend who wants free range chickens on her farm and will take the boys. Should I keep a roo to stay with the hen? How does this work? And which one should I choose? One seems really mean, one cockadoodles, and one is 1/2 the size of the others.
If it were me I'd keep the friendliest one with the hen. Sorry 3 out of 4 were roos. I'd send the mean one away for sure. But that's just me. I'm only raising mine for pets so the mean one would go. If the other two are both friendly or at least nice then I'd pick whichever one the hen likes the most. Oh and if the three are roosters they will all cockadoodle someday so that shouldn't factor in to which one you want to keep. If you have pictures we could help you on gender. If you need help, that is. You should keep at least two chickens. They get lonely if they are by themselves!
How many chickens are you trying to end up with? I'm just thinking if you're down to two and ever have a predator problem......you could have one lonely hen or no chickens at all. Somethin to think about. If your cockerels are fighting all the time maybe it's due to lack of space or boredom??? I had 2 roos and they were buds. Of course it could just be their personalities, and you can't change that so a rehome is a good choice for the mean one.
That was exactly the situation I had with my first batch. As they matured, their personalities became more distinct. By three months I had one that was crowing. I finally found a place for the two that I wasn't so fond of (the neighbors freezer!). The last one started crowing the day after they were gone--I really liked him, wanted to keep him. But hubby and neighbor were not so fond of him. A very sad time.....If you can get homes for them, that is great. I would try to keep one rooster if you can, and later add another hen or two for him. Lots of people keep a rooster with just one or two hens, it can work. BTW they have a lot of personality!
At 8 weeks, unless they are actually hurting each other, that's probably normal agressive play. They're just learning to be boys. If you don't want roos, see if you can find a couple more started pullets for the lone hen.
