Cockerel separation

[Mikechiki]

Hello again to the all the members, I would like to ask your opinion about my new flock, should I keep all the chickens which probably are now 3 cockerels and 7 hens together? or should I separate them? they are now around 7-8 weeks old but I notice today that the two cockerels were fighting during feeding.
Thank you in advance.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You will need to remove at least 2 eventually. I generally wait until they start harassing the Pullets. It all depends on what your plans for them are.

 

[Mikechiki]

You will need to remove at least 2 eventually. I generally wait until they start harassing the Pullets. It all depends on what your plans for them are.

thank your,I will probably give them to friends who also have flocks and I will keep one or two but I didn't separate them until now because they are still young.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

thank your,I will probably give them to friends who also have flocks and I will keep one or two but I didn't separate them until now because they are still young.

I generally start removing mine somewhere between 4-5 months of age. That's when the hormones start to increase.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I wouldn't keep more than 1 cockerel. And if that dude grows up to be a problem, off to the drive through processing he goes....

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

One of my reasons to have and raise chickens is for meat. I typically keep my cockerels with the main flock until butcher age, somewhere between 16 and 23 weeks of age. Every three or four years I isolate about a dozen cockerels in a shelter with its own run section if things get too rowdy. That means I do not isolate them every year. As long as no one is getting hurt I leave them alone.

This is where I mention that I have a large main coop, two decent-sized shelters, a 12' x 32' (4 m x 10 m) main run and over 2,000 sq ft (over 220 square meters) inside electric netting and weather they can pretty much use all of that space all day. If yours are in a small space you can expect behavioral issues to be magnified.

I don't know how much room you have and, more importantly, I don't know your ultimate goals. How many do you want to keep? My goals don't matter, only yours. I don't know how to advise as I don't know what you want to achieve.

 

[Mikechiki]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

One of my reasons to have and raise chickens is for meat. I typically keep my cockerels with the main flock until butcher age, somewhere between 16 and 23 weeks of age. Every three or four years I isolate about a dozen cockerels in a shelter with its own run section if things get too rowdy. That means I do not isolate them every year. As long as no one is getting hurt I leave them alone.

This is where I mention that I have a large main coop, two decent-sized shelters, a 12' x 32' (4 m x 10 m) main run and over 2,000 sq ft (over 220 square meters) inside electric netting and weather they can pretty much use all of that space all day. If yours are in a small space you can expect behavioral issues to be magnified.

I don't know how much room you have and, more importantly, I don't know your ultimate goals. How many do you want to keep? My goals don't matter, only yours. I don't know how to advise as I don't know what you want to achieve.

Thank you for the answers,my main goal is to have a sustainable and peaceful flock not more than 10-15 hens,the whole area (pasture)is around 700 square meters,as the days goes I notice with your help that 5 out of 10 are cockerels and 5 pullets so for sure I will not keep all those cockerels,but maybe one or two of them and then I will add some more poullets.