More boys than expected.

[LaFleche]

Fortunately 4 of the 6 cockerals seem to be hobbits according to my daughter - they want a hoodie, a cup of tea, and a book or maybe watch the world go by.

This may change soon enough.

Take some time to sit near or even inside their run to observe the behavior of each male with the females and with each other, so you will be able to determine who to keep and who to rehome.

Maybe keep only one male of each breed and your Poppy, which will result in a much better male to female ratio, keeping the peace and thus the stress level down.

ETA: And welcome to the BYC community!

 

[SFalpaca]

ETA: And welcome to the BYC community!

Thank you

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

My bantam rooster-only flocks were always reasonably peaceful. I also kept up to a 50:50 ratio of roosters and hens in a mixed bantam flock without a lot of issues. Bantams tend to have a lot less problems with over-breeding.

 

[SFalpaca]

My bantam rooster-only flocks were always reasonably peaceful. I also kept up to a 50:50 ratio of roosters and hens in a mixed bantam flock without a lot of issues. Bantams tend to have a lot less problems with over-breeding.

Thank you. That's good to know. So far we are having little problems. All the boys treat the girls and humans nicely. We have cameras inside and out, so I just have chicken tv on in the background while I work. I have lots of places I can temporarily stick a roo if problems arise. We are also converting our tack room to give them more space. Once that is done, we can easily separate the roos into their own room, if there is a problem. But until then everyone can enjoy the extra space. I also found someone giving away a 200sqft dog run. It will need a roof of some kind to keep out flying predatories. So they can also have a very large outdoor run if needed. Poppy has shown little interest in the new girls or boys, minus the odd peck. I am researching all the sancturies I can find in how they handle their flocks - too many boys, aggresive boys, etc. Any tips you have for keeping please, I would love to have.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Thank you. That's good to know. So far we are having little problems. All the boys treat the girls and humans nicely. We have cameras inside and out, so I just have chicken tv on in the background while I work. I have lots of places I can temporarily stick a roo if problems arise. We are also converting our tack room to give them more space. Once that is done, we can easily separate the roos into their own room, if there is a problem. But until then everyone can enjoy the extra space. I also found someone giving away a 200sqft dog run. It will need a roof of some kind to keep out flying predatories. So they can also have a very large outdoor run if needed. Poppy has shown little interest in the new girls or boys, minus the odd peck. I am researching all the sancturies I can find in how they handle their flocks - too many boys, aggresive boys, etc. Any tips you have for keeping please, I would love to have.

Most of my experience is detailed on this article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/rooster-flocks.72998/
I don’t currently have a rooster flock as I only have two chickens right now.