Author Topic: keeping extra cocks (Read 7228 times)

Blue Egg Acres · « **on:** February 03, 2011, 11:25:35 AM »

Just wondering how the rest of you keep your extra cock birds? Do you run them altogether or pen them separately? If you run them together do you just let them fight it out? I have more than I have pens to keep them separate.
BTW I have several 2010 hatch wheaten and blue wheaten cockerels available. Contact me if interested.

Jean · « **Reply #1 on:** February 03, 2011, 11:30:17 AM »

Barbara,

I find if you never seperate them, they work a pecking order out before before it gets too out of hand.

Once I have seperated them, I keep mine seperate. I have six seperate \"rooster boxes\" and a couple grow out pens that I keep the cockerels and roosters in.

John · « **Reply #2 on:** February 03, 2011, 11:57:45 AM »

I\'ve been leaving two cocks per coop of 8 - 12 or so hens. 1 cock rules the roost, while the other spends most of the time out of the way on the roost.
With some matings I rotate cocks in and out of breeding coops and sometimes keep extra LF cocks in a coop/pen together (bantam cocks in another coop). The pecking order has to get reestablished each time one is taken out and one is added. The neat part is they may get bloodied up, but they learn to back down rather than fight to the end. You can try to level the playing field some by taking out the \"alpha\" cock for a day when a new one comes in the coop. There are several ways to help make the transitions a bit smoother.

Mike Gilbert · « **Reply #3 on:** February 03, 2011, 12:18:25 PM »

If you have to pen roosters together that have been apart, put at least a half dozen or more together for the first time at the same time. That way everybody is fighting everybody, and none get beat up all that badly. It\'s chaos at first, but they soon settle down. I call it the apocalypse method.

Beth C · « **Reply #4 on:** February 03, 2011, 12:31:03 PM »

Quote

I call it the apocalypse method.

LOVE IT!!

I don\'t have much choice but to pen mine together - space is pretty limited - and they seem to work it out pretty quick.

Blue Egg Acres · « **Reply #5 on:** February 03, 2011, 05:03:34 PM »

Quote from: Jean

\"rooster boxes\".

Jean, can you describe and/or post pics of these when you have the time? Thanks!

Jean · « **Reply #6 on:** February 03, 2011, 05:35:26 PM »

Thanks Mike for the funny. First time I have laughed out loud for a while. I\'ve got the winter blues......

Barbara here is a sample picture of some we made a while back. You would want to tweek it a bit to fit your needs. I don\'t like the way my doors are put on, I would rather they open to the side.

All my show cocks go in these.

Mike Gilbert · « **Reply #7 on:** February 03, 2011, 05:52:42 PM »

Yeah, I think I would get some different hinges and put 2 on the sides of each door, plus move or replace the latches. They should be easy to clean and pretty much draft free.

Blue Egg Acres · « **Reply #8 on:** February 03, 2011, 06:28:51 PM »

Thanks for the pic Jean. And thanks to everyone for your in[ut.

John · « **Reply #9 on:** February 03, 2011, 07:31:39 PM »

Here are a couple photos of a wire coop mounted on the wall in a breeding coop with several birds. This coop has an angled floor so eggs roll out to the front, but now I am just using it to house an extra cock.

dak · « **Reply #10 on:** February 04, 2011, 06:54:29 PM »

Quote from: John

I\'ve been leaving two cocks per coop of 8 - 12 or so hens. 1 cock rules the roost, while the other spends most of the time out of the way on the roost.
With some matings I rotate cocks in and out of breeding coops and sometimes keep extra LF cocks in a coop/pen together (bantam cocks in another coop). The pecking order has to get reestablished each time one is taken out and one is added. The neat part is they may get bloodied up, but they learn to back down rather than fight to the end. You can try to level the playing field some by taking out the \"alpha\" cock for a day when a new one comes in the coop. There are several ways to help make the transitions a bit smoother.

When there are two cocks in the pen, how much of the breeding do you think the subordinate cock accounts for? Any?

John · « **Reply #11 on:** February 04, 2011, 07:00:02 PM »

Very little. With the coop area in the barn and wired pen area outside there are times when one cock is inside and one is out...the subordinate one could get lucky if he is fast and gutsy.
The idea isn\'t to have both breed, but to have the backup bird in case something happens to the #1 cock.

Blue Egg Acres · « **Reply #12 on:** February 05, 2011, 12:53:49 PM »

Thanks for the pics John. I think we\'ll put some of these together.

John · « **Reply #13 on:** February 05, 2011, 01:01:39 PM »

I also use them to put broody hens in until they start laying again. This keeps them out of the nest boxes and the wire bottoms help to dissuade them from setting.

tinadinkins · « **Reply #14 on:** February 05, 2011, 01:09:43 PM »

Barbara,
I can keep up to three together. They usually work out the pecking order fast. I usually try to keep two and let the others free range with my laying chickens until I need them.

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Author Topic: keeping extra cocks (Read 7228 times)

Blue Egg Acres

John

Mike Gilbert

Beth C

Blue Egg Acres

Mike Gilbert

Blue Egg Acres

John

dak

John

Blue Egg Acres

John

tinadinkins