[hennman]

I have 2 large birds and 6 smaller birds 4 of witch are male the 6 smaller birds came from eggs i hatched with the help of one of my large birds (she was broody at the time) the past few months the boys have been fighting and the girls have stopped laying is this due to the fighting and should i get rid of the boys . How would be the best way to get rid of the boys 

[pekinpete]

yes i would certainly get rid of cock birds if your not going to breed you don't need them,when did your birds stop laying, with that amount of cock birds they are probably pestering hens

[hennman]

They stopped laying about two months ago

[joyfull]

how old are the ones that stopped laying? What breed are they?
Also for that amount you only need one cockerel and not one that is related if you wish to breed. I like keeping a cockerel with my hens as I find it keeps them in check 

[hennman]

The large hens are 2yrs old the small ones are 6 months

[joyfull]

The larger ones will stop laying then over winter - mine are just coming back into lay (well except for those that are still moulting)  .
You do need to get rid of your cockerels though as they will fight to see who is the boss out of them and cockerels can be very nasty (hence why they used to have cock fighting) and can seriously injure if not kill each other 

[hennman]

Thank you for your help have split the boys up as one is looking very sorry for his self will keep an eye on them until i can find them a new home (i may keep the one that's being bulled )

[rachelr]

 If they are not that old they would be nice for the pot. A lot of people who end up with too many cockrels cook them.

[joyfull]

last night I had cockerel cooked in white wine, with mushrooms, onions and carrots - yummy 

[hillfooter]

If you keep hens with cockerels it's best to have a ratio of two or more to one.  Two to one if you want fertile eggs and a higher ratio if you just want to keep the cockerels for pets as they do pull the hens about and disturb them laying so at least 4 to one hens to cockerels.  Cockerels are of no use or value generally unless of a good quality showing standard or proven good layer producers.

Rehoming them can be very difficult.
HF