When to separate out cockerels

[Parront]

Everyone is different with different situations. I hatch out a lot of chicks every year of which around half will be males. I do raise my birds to show at poultry shows. In the past we have processed the extra males but now I sell them. I keep the best as future breeders. We have a local farm swap with plenty of buyers so I have no problem with selling my extra males. I do grow them out and when they start bothering the females I separate them and put them into bachelor coops and pens but I do have several coops. They are fine as long as there are no females. Now if I want a bird to eat we have a butcher down the road and I buy an already processed bird there. I can get more from my birds when I sell them which helps to offset the cost of feed but I also go through a lot of feed. I don't have the usual backyard flock. Currently with the chicks I average around 400/500 birds. I recently sold a bunch of birds. Good luck...
Some of my Rhode Island Reds.
View attachment 2749783View attachment 2749785

They are fantastic!

 

[Raptor Mountain Farm]

Sometimes pullets square off and spar, making me think I have more cockerels than I do. It's usually the friendliest, most confident chick that turns out to be the rooster that I don't want.

I had a bird I wasn't sure if rooster or hen, so I separated her. She had behavior issues was main reason for separating. The other hens were laying a month before her. The week before I was going to cull her, thinking she was a rooster, I found a mini egg in her nesting box. What a surprise. I did let her out, but her behavior is not tolerable with the other docile Heritage breeds I have. So when I take out the other roosters in a couple of weeks, she will be going too. I hate seeing her penned up while the others free range. They do come visit her and perch on top of her coop. LOL