My flock of cockerels (down to 25- ish or so now) can come and go out of their coop into their pen at will during the day. The entire flock heads outdoors in the morning, but three of them never, ever go out. They just hang out together on the floor in the coop, they don't even roost, they eat, drink and chill. They are purebred, two Hollands and a Buckeye. They seem healthy enough, but are they actually genetic weaklings?
Or just the nice guys in the science and math club?
They are undersized compared to the rest, and probably will be culled, but since I also value temperament I'd rather have a smaller, sweeter rooster than a big nasty bruiser hulk who beats up on the others so I don't want to cull too early. The rest of the flock has the occasional spat amongst themselves but it seems that I have no bullies, nobody is getting picked on. Any thoughts?
Question Cockerel wimps
-
WLLady
- Stringy Old Soup Pot Hen of a Moderator
- Posts: 5613
- Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2015 9:55 pm
- Location: Rural near West Lorne and Glencoe
- x 8527
Cockerel wimps
I would say you have the three bottom of the pack wusses. They are probably enjoying the fact the others are outside....
6
Pet quality wheaten/blue wheaten ameraucanas, welsummers, barred rocks, light brown leghorns; Projects on the go: rhodebars, welbars-
windwalkingwolf
- Poultry Guru - pullet level
- Posts: 3567
- Joined: Sat Dec 12, 2015 1:31 pm
- Location: Frankville, Ontario
- x 4899
Cockerel wimps
Are the cockerels all the same age? Boys that feel their oats first will be first to the top of the pecking order, and the slower maturing guys will be at the bottom, and almost always stay there. But good news is that their low-man-on-the-totem-pole status in a cockerel pen, doesn't usually carry over to breeding flock if one of these bottom rung guys is given some hens--they (usually) seem to get the job done just as well as the more aggressive fellows, and sometimes the hens appreciate the gentle wusses more than the cocks of the walk :) Bad news is, is that if you decide to keep the AV Club bunch, they can be difficult to house--they will have to be kept separately from the football team, or they'll forever have to be pried out from where the bigger boys have stuffed them into a locker...or humped them into it. It doesn't usually physically hurt a rooster to be a bottom, but it's rough on the feathers, and they don't like it much 
2
Cockerel wimps
WWW 
All the cockerels are the same age, almost 3 months old now. I want to keep only the best four or five or maybe six, depending on how well they continue to get along. I can split their coop into two if I have to, it will be big enough, I'll keep an eye on them to make sure nobody's getting roughed up. My plan is to always keep the cockerels/roosters separate from the hens until breeding time.
All the cockerels are the same age, almost 3 months old now. I want to keep only the best four or five or maybe six, depending on how well they continue to get along. I can split their coop into two if I have to, it will be big enough, I'll keep an eye on them to make sure nobody's getting roughed up. My plan is to always keep the cockerels/roosters separate from the hens until breeding time.
1
