When to re-home?

[Folly's place]

Good ideas already! It's best to not hatch chicks if you don't have a place for extra cockerels, or are unwilling to have them become dinner somewhere. That's what Turkens were developed for, after all.
A bachelor pen is your best alternative if you plan to keep more cockerels, so that your hens and pullets aren't living in misery.
Mary

 

[WallyBirdie]

To assure proper care and a lifetime home for your cockerels, it may be necessary to form an all rooster flock separate and away from the hens.

I like this option very much. But I won't have the time/money/resources to build a new coop/run til next spring/summer. But it would be wonderful to keep them all. I do love how beautiful roosters are, and the crowing never fails to make me smile.

 

[WallyBirdie]

Good ideas already! It's best to not hatch chicks if you don't have a place for extra cockerels, or are unwilling to have them become dinner somewhere. That's what Turkens were developed for, after all.
A bachelor pen is your best alternative if you plan to keep more cockerels, so that your hens and pullets aren't living in misery.
Mary

Very insightful. I admit that I didn't think too far into the idea of hatching eggs. My girl was broody and I decided to give her a chance on the eggs. There was room for a few more, where she is. I hadn't factored in male to female ratios at the time- even so, I still might be able to arrange something because my juvenile guineas were moved from one run and successfully integrated with the adults, so that clears room with a group of girls (large friendly hens).
I could add a young male in with them. (It was a good option when I needed help with my grumpy cockerel- whose behavior has been reformed).

I'll have to keep an eye on things and do some figuring. If I can pull my resources, a bachelor pen would be most ideal.

Come to think of it, I know someone who is getting rid of a 'duck hut', which is essentially a small coop they used for ducks. It would probably be a good start for what I need.

Thank you for the advice here. I'll get things figured out soon!

 

[Kusanar]

I don't know how tight your budget is right now, but have you looked at the prefab storage sheds from lowes (and other places)? You could get one of those for less than $500, then do a hoop run with cattle panels fairly quick and inexpensively.

 

[Mrs. K]

Roosters are where romance meets reality as AArt says. It is a good truth. Roosters are a crapshoot, and often times people vastly underestimate the violence a rooster is capable of producing towards people and or towards each other.

If you have multiple roosters, you need a plan B (which is what I think you are trying to do) set up and ready to go. A hook or a fishnet so that you can separate fighting roosters.

Once they leave you, you have no say what others do, it is really none of your business. Selling a rooster is possible, if you have some very nice birds, but it is not likely. Roosters are a dime a dozen, so to speak, as more people have roosters that are ruining the whole chicken experience, than people that want roosters. Rehoming for most is a lovely idea, but not a practical one, in as they can't find a home for them.

Separate coops will help you keep them. The thing is you really cannot change natural chicken behavior, and a lot of the behavior is pretty ugly if you are in a smaller confinement area. Separating them is really your only option and it is an expensive one.

You will be able to tell, when your pullets and hens become bare backed, keep hiding in the coop, are repeatedly harassed for sexual favors and upset by fighting birds.

People often come to this forum with some preconceived ideas about how this will go, but chickens are chickens, and do not always act nice and get along. Wishing will not make it so. Sometimes a bachelor pen will work, some roosters it won't work.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

Roosters are where romance meets reality as AArt says.

Yup, I was going to post that

 

[HAPPYCHICKENLADY17]

Haha, thank you! If I need to re-home my birds, they would certainly do best with someone who'd love them!

i have some silkie cockerels that need re homing, and a little frizzle cochin bantam , i would love to send them to a home that will love them as much as we do......its that i have six and that is way too many for me to keep, i dont think i will do straight run chickes anymore, it just breaks my heart

 

[baasanders]

I'm glad I found this thread!! I'm in a similar situation. I have one Roo, and he rules the roost. My baby Turken literally flew the coop yesterday, and the Roo went after him/her!! Scared me to death!! I clipped the Turken's wings and the Cochin's so they can't fly out of it. I know he's protecting his women, but I'm scared of how he's going to treat the new 6 when they are old enough to be released.

At their age, I'm assuming he can't tell what's male/female, he just say a bird around his girls and wasn't going to have that. So as they get older, his attitude should change towards the pullets....right? I'd hate to have to re-home him, because I don't want him eaten!!

 

[WallyBirdie]

I'm glad I found this thread!! I'm in a similar situation. I have one Roo, and he rules the roost. My baby Turken literally flew the coop yesterday, and the Roo went after him/her!! Scared me to death!! I clipped the Turken's wings and the Cochin's so they can't fly out of it. I know he's protecting his women, but I'm scared of how he's going to treat the new 6 when they are old enough to be released.

At their age, I'm assuming he can't tell what's male/female, he just say a bird around his girls and wasn't going to have that. So as they get older, his attitude should change towards the pullets....right? I'd hate to have to re-home him, because I don't want him eaten!!

There are ways around dealing with roos. Slow introduction. Chicken jail (when a bird is bad). If you have enough pullets/hens, then a couple males are fine.

My problem stems from ending up with two more males than I was prepared for. And currently, it looks like I am keeping them.
If you need suggestions on integrating or dealing with naughty roosters, there are ways. I had to reform a grumpy cockerel earlier.

 

[Futuregreenefarm]

I am curious as to how you reformed a "grumpy" roo and what you define as grumpy as well please?