Articles
On Behavior:
- Ask Bee - Help! Egg-Eating Chickens! (NCK)
- Do You Speak Chicken? Flock Social Behavior and How Chickens Communicate (NCK)
- Broody Hens - Nature's Incubators. Your Questions Answered (NCK)
- Roost Potatoes or Health Nuts? Facts on Free Ranging Your Flock (NCK)
- From Brooder to Flock Member - Integrating Chicks Into The Flock (NCK)
Roosters:
- Unruly Rooster? How to Train Your Rooster (NCK)
- How
do Chickens "Do It?" Chicken Sex Explained (NCK)
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On the rooster training....I got me a big stick and I am ready to train mine. So excited that I found this because I am new at this and was worried about the roosters. I got my stick propped up beside the door right now just waiting for training. I have so many birds right now though and really need to get rid of a bunch but really don't know how to go about doing that. I have 15 RIR's and 23 BA and B sex links. I'm thinking I have a BUNCH of roos in the BA and sex links. They're about 2 months old and the RIR's are 2 weeks older than them. I'm not sure yet on how many roosters I have but if I am right, its a bunch in the BA's. Only about 4 I think in the RIR's and don't know HOW to go about picking out the BEST one of those to keep. :( I'm scared to get rid of any because I worry about getting rid of the wrong ones. :(
ReplyDeleteWhich roosters to keep and which to cull should depend on your long-term goals.
DeleteIf you plan to have a nice back yard flock for pleasure and for eggs, just keep the rooster(s) you like the best. The most respectful of you and the best with the girls.
If you plan on breeding and selling/hatching their eggs as pure-bred stock, then you'll want to look at the American Poultry Association's "Standard of Perfection." The "SOP" is fairly pricy at $60+, but well worth it for those wanting to breed show quality stock.
Leigh
my 3 chickens (hens) have a lot of feathers missing. My one rooster's feathers are fine. Is my rooster over breeding ?
ReplyDeleteYes - it is normal for your hens to be a bit bare right now. One reason is the breeding by the roosters, but the other is that we are coming into molting season. Each year your chickens will molt their old feathers out and grow back new ones to keep them warm for the winter.
DeleteRead About Molting Here