Rooster Coop?

[Lizzy733]

Hey guys,

I'm finally getting out of the city and have 3 little upstarts in my brooder that should be around 7 weeks old come move day.

Will be keeping them all for their genetics and need to set up a rooster-only pen as otherwise I only have 6 hens at the moment (3 pullets from their hatch and 3 adults).

Are there any differences in the requirements for a roo only pen as opposed to your typical setup? Does anything change - particularly with the coop aside from no laying boxes? Would they be better suited to small stall structures or will the boys still huddle together on a perch at night?

We're pretty fortunate in NZ to have a void of large predators and the weather is quite tropical, never makes it as low as to freeze. There shouldn't be any feral cats or dogs in my area as there's a no pets covenant on the entire estate and is next to protected native bush. Maybe native hawks, possibly weasels, rats... Snakes aren't a thing here, so can probably get away with some pretty light fencing options.

Any recommendations on a quick, cheap setup? I'm thinking pallets, as there are some on the property - lots of metal framing already there and likely a fair bit of netting as it has quite a few greenhouse stalls etc set up.

Haven't sighted the place yet due to lockdown, but that was the takeaway from a friend that helped with pics and video for the initial inspection.

We will also need to set up the whole flock temporarily - possibly overnight while we relocate the current coop. It's quite heavy and may take some time to dismantle it as I'm pretty sure we nailed everything down when we built it.

Two of the boys are Campine, so will be topping whatever I put in.

I'm planning a speed-dating pen for very selective breeding and will pull one roo at a time as needed.

Cheers,
Lizzy

 

[cavemanrich]

A rooster quarters with them having open access, will eventually lead to some roosters fighting each other. The young cockerels will start to take a stand when their hormones kick in.
If you want to keep multiple roosters for you breeding program,,, you should make individual pens for each. they may be next to each other,,, but separated by chicken wire.
Into those pens,, introduce your select hens for breeding. Remember,, that they may have to be there a few days to be fertile. Once removed,, they will produce fertile eggs for up to 3 weeks,,,,,, before needing to be roosterd. Yes,, I know I just made up another word for the dictionary people to consider.

I have seen setups like what I mentioned,, but have no pix to help with it. Maybe others can post pix of their rooster pads.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Lizzy733]

A rooster quarters with them having open access, will eventually lead to some roosters fighting each other. The young cockerels will start to take a stand when their hormones kick in.
If you want to keep multiple roosters for you breeding program,,, you should make individual pens for each. they may be next to each other,,, but separated by chicken wire.
Into those pens,, introduce your select hens for breeding. Remember,, that they may have to be there a few days to be fertile. Once removed,, they will produce fertile eggs for up to 3 weeks,,,,,, before needing to be roosterd. Yes,, I know I just made up another word for the dictionary people to consider.

I have seen setups like what I mentioned,, but have no pix to help with it. Maybe others can post pix of their rooster pads.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Thanks,

All these boys are in the brooder together now, so hoping they will be docile with each other coming into hormones without being with the hens. Since they've been together from hatch, they should have a chance to sort out their pecking order early on without any bloodshed... At least, I'm hoping. I've spoken with the campine's breeder and she keeps her roos this way and haven't gotten any infighting aside from initial integrations. The other little roo is an Orpington, so not sure if he'll be up to scrapping. He's claimed his sister in the brooder and they kinda have a mini flock going.

My new property is a couple hectares, so can have them very far away from the hens till I can get things set up properly.

Just, until things settle financially, I can't commit to any big projects and with alert levels currently, I can't pop down to the hardware store and get access to building essentials like timber - which is crazy. We've been locked up for over 2 months now and I'd started a run renovation project(before I knew we'd be buying a block), gotten some supplies to get started, then lockdown. I got about a quarter way in before I ran outta supplies.

I'll be moving to what is currently a lower alert level, but may just have to rely on what's on the property for now (meaning when we get up there tail end of November).

For now, they're just 3 weeks old, so have some time before any fiery hormones kick in.

There are some greenhouse frames set up - a stand of about 5 bays that I would really like to steal for breeder pens, but my husband is the horticulturalist and I suspect he's not going to let me. Most have plants in them too, so that drops my chances of pinching them.

We do have a small tunnel house that's coming with us. Think that's likely going to end up being their overnight house - might be a good perm for the roos considering it will break line of sight with the hens.

I tend to use aviary wire when building enclosures for them. The current hen run that's getting broken down is 5m X 6m walk-in with a netted top and we've always capped at 6 hens.

 

[OrganikMarket]

Hey guys,

I'm finally getting out of the city and have 3 little upstarts in my brooder that should be around 7 weeks old come move day.

Will be keeping them all for their genetics and need to set up a rooster-only pen as otherwise I only have 6 hens at the moment (3 pullets from their hatch and 3 adults).

Are there any differences in the requirements for a roo only pen as opposed to your typical setup? Does anything change - particularly with the coop aside from no laying boxes? Would they be better suited to small stall structures or will the boys still huddle together on a perch at night?

We're pretty fortunate in NZ to have a void of large predators and the weather is quite tropical, never makes it as low as to freeze. There shouldn't be any feral cats or dogs in my area as there's a no pets covenant on the entire estate and is next to protected native bush. Maybe native hawks, possibly weasels, rats... Snakes aren't a thing here, so can probably get away with some pretty light fencing options.

Any recommendations on a quick, cheap setup? I'm thinking pallets, as there are some on the property - lots of metal framing already there and likely a fair bit of netting as it has quite a few greenhouse stalls etc set up.

Haven't sighted the place yet due to lockdown, but that was the takeaway from a friend that helped with pics and video for the initial inspection.

We will also need to set up the whole flock temporarily - possibly overnight while we relocate the current coop. It's quite heavy and may take some time to dismantle it as I'm pretty sure we nailed everything down when we built it.

Two of the boys are Campine, so will be topping whatever I put in.

I'm planning a speed-dating pen for very selective breeding and will pull one roo at a time as needed.

Cheers,
Lizzy

Liszt: GREAT QUESTIONS. Poultry in our yard(lol), to many to count.lol. Always make a run area or coop area like carrying a spare tire: be prepared: don’t cheap out on it, make sure to use 1/4” wire mesh. Saves from anything j u s t in case. Good luck, GodSpeed.