[bastonjock]

Ive been given 5 warrens,these are of commercial stock.I have 2 cockerels and 3 hens.much to my amaizement these 9 week old birds are larger than my Sussex (17 weeks) barndelver and RR.My main worry is with the cockerels,they are brothers but im concerned as to when they will begin fighting each other.I have two coops with runs and plenty of space for all

roughly when should i expect them to start fighting? i intend to use one cockerel for the table,it will be a hard decision but one cockerel acting as a protector will be enough i think.

or could i separate the cockerels and have one cockerel with 3 or 4 hens and the other with 5 hens all in separate coops?

The warrens came from a commerical chicken unit so i am expecting them to be prolific egg layers.

[GrannieAnnie]

Are the cockerels warrens too?  that's unusual as they are colour sexed and normally killed at day old.

A warren cockerel won't have much meat on him.  I know, I've tried it with an amberlink!  But yes, you can certainly have 1 cockerel to up to about 10 hens no probs.  And if they are brothers they may not fight living together with their hens.

Joyfull has several cockerels and over 40 hens and chicks all running together, but they are free ranging, so have plenty of room to get our of each others way!

[orchardlady]

It rather depends on how old your boys are but next spring is the likely time that there might be conflict starting but in the mean time keep an eye on them. If they do start to fight you absolutely must separate them otherwise the more dominant one will kill his brother.

[joyfull]

cockerels have a pecking order just like hens and as these have been bought up together the chances are they have already sorted this out, but as Grannie Annie has said mine do free range so they can get out of each others way 

[bastonjock]

The warrens came from a friend whos brother owns the chicken business.I first saw the chicks with both their parents as they free ranged my friends yard.The daddy cockerel was a magnificent looking specimen,he was at the front guarding his babys and mother hen was taking up the rear,the cockerel was very protective of his familly,he has the neighborhood cats terrified.

I believe that the best birds for meat are sasso,s is this correct? if all goes well,i intend to get some fertilised eggs and have a few birds for the table.

i will wait and see how the cockerels behave

[GrannieAnnie]

We've had sasso's before, but wasn't greatly impressed.  We get Hubbrd JA757's from Poulet in Old Bolingbroke.  Sometimes I get fertile eggs from him, but we usually buy them at day old and grow on!

oven ready weights vary from 1.75kgs to nearly 5kgs at times!  But usually somewhere in between!

[bastonjock]

thanks for the info guys,i was passing by your town last weekend Annie and was thinking of all those chickens

[NormandyMary]

I used to have 2 cockerals with 9 girls. The baby cockerel, Bigfoot, was the son of Monty, so he knew him from a chick. There were never any problems with the boys, as long as Bogfoot respected the pecking order at meal times.

[GrannieAnnie]

thanks for the info guys,i was passing by your town last weekend Annie and was thinking of all those chickens

lol BJ  I'm nearer to Bicker than Boston though, down the A52, so maybe you passed by us?