What to do with excess males?

[CountryFried]

Never had this problem with chickens because I always bought sexed, but since I got straight run yesterday, I guess I need to have a plan. No plans for freezer camp currently, and I don't really want to have 50 pens set up with trios. Feel like that would make it hard to "free range" them in a movable pen (won't be total free range for the KCs, at least, because of hawks, so I'll be doing some sort of movable pen with net or wire over it). Seems like a male only flock doesn't work out well?

 

[SueT]

We have a monthly poultry swap here. It's year round and well attended. I got straight run chicks last spring and later sold the extra boys at the swap.

 

[CountryFried]

We have a monthly poultry swap here. It's year round and well attended. I got straight run chicks last spring and later sold the extra boys at the swap.

What with I want to keep them, though? (Because the males are so much prettier and I have a child that gets extremely attached to critters haha)

 

[Miss Lydia]

Then You have drake pen female pen during worst of the hormanal year and let them all be together over winter.

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

Never had this problem with chickens because I always bought sexed, but since I got straight run yesterday, I guess I need to have a plan. No plans for freezer camp currently, and I don't really want to have 50 pens set up with trios. Feel like that would make it hard to "free range" them in a movable pen (won't be total free range for the KCs, at least, because of hawks, so I'll be doing some sort of movable pen with net or wire over it). Seems like a male only flock doesn't work out well?

I usually sell my extra muscovy drakes. And I keep my extra Mallard drakes for showing.

 

[CountryFried]

I usually sell my extra muscovy drakes. And I keep my extra Mallard drakes for showing.

How do you pen the males you keep?

 

[MROO]

Never had this problem with chickens because I always bought sexed, but since I got straight run yesterday, I guess I need to have a plan. No plans for freezer camp currently, and I don't really want to have 50 pens set up with trios. Feel like that would make it hard to "free range" them in a movable pen (won't be total free range for the KCs, at least, because of hawks, so I'll be doing some sort of movable pen with net or wire over it). Seems like a male only flock doesn't work out well?

Rooster flocks can most definitely work, especially if "The Boys" are raised together, as yours will be.

Check out this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/rooster-flocks.72998/
and this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rooster-flocks.1174877/

I have a "Bachelor Pad" coop and run, myself. There are six fellows currently sharing the dorm - four Nankin bantams, an oversized Silkie and a red pyle OEGB - and they get along just fine!

My Boys: Butterball, Feisty, Simpleton and FlutterBug - You can just see Herman inside the wire. He hadn't figured out that the other gate was open, yet ... Silkies are a bit slow on the uptake, sometimes and poor Yukon is low-man, so he won't leave until everyone else does.