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 treegod |
Too many roosters! |
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Posts: 11 08/12/09 09:03 AM |
I seem to have a disproportionate amount of males to females. Last year we successfully hatched 6 chicks, 5 of which were male. This year we have three chicks
(so far) two of which are male and the third is female. Could there be some factor that influences the balance of males and females hatched?
Also what do you do with the excess males that are hatched? |
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robin416 |
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Posts: 4366 08/13/09 05:20 AM |
There is a lament here this past year about all the boys that are hatching, me included. Its been a strange year where there are far more boys than girls
hatching.
For most of us we advertise them, if they are of pet quality generally they are given away. Some process them for their freezers. I can't do that so they get rehomed. |
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treegod |
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Posts: 17 08/13/09 09:44 AM |
Out of the five males hatched last year, 1 we kept (Tetley, the athletic looking Brahma), 3 we left out to the wild (there's a lot of it), they hung around
but we kept them out of the coop until they disapeared into nature's food chain and the fifth we managed to give away to someone.
We also bought several "hens" that turned out to be cockerels. We managed to give these away too. Although one we kept, Raven, such a beautiful black cockerel and surely an interesting addition to the gene pool 
I could attempt the freezer approach but so far that's our last choice as long as the others work. My girlfriend's on a Spanish farm message board, I'm on an expat one and we have a pet shop that we can put notices in. |
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treegod |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 25 08/17/09 04:22 AM |
I've recieved some info about how to influence the hen/cockerel ratio. I don't know if it works or if it's one of those old wives tales but I think
it's work experimenting with.
When fertile eggs are laid in the waxing moon (from new to full) more cockerels are produced. When fertile eggs are laid in the waning moond (from full to new) more hens are produced. Apparently one person tried it and got 1:5 male:female in the waning moon. Next year I think I'll try it out, to see what happens. And if it works I won't have to worry about excess males! Hoorah! If... |
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treegod |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 31 08/20/09 03:56 AM |
Good bye PG Tips.
Good bye Crow. They've gone to a new home now, leaving our hens free from so much testosterone 
Still more eggs to hatch though, not the end of cockerels this year... |
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tuffoldhen |
#5 | |||
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Posts: 2015 08/20/09 02:16 PM |
This year I've been blessed with a better ratio with hatches, my BBS Orps hatched even, the Blacks and the Lavenders I'm running more cockerels then
pullets there but not bad. Last year I had way too many cockerels, couldn't give them away and they had to go to freezer camp.
~ ~ Blue/Black/Splash Orpingtons, Black Orpingtons and Light Brahmas ~ ~
~~~~~ Project Lavender Orpingtons and Split Black Lav Orps ~~~~~~ |
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treegod |
#6 | |||
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Posts: 32 08/21/09 01:35 AM |
Next year I think we'll be better prepared to hatch more chicks, which means I'll probably have more cockerels no matter the ratio. I don't know
what will happen.
Here's another bit of science/old wives tale I've come across; look at the eggs. If they are pointed they are male and if they are more rounded they are female. I'll try anything once, just to experiment and see. Anything to improve the ratio in favour of hens! I also remember something a bit more believable from college when learning about pheasant eggs in incubators, that the temperature can effect the male:female ratio. It was an idea between me and my girlfriend to get an incubator and control the temperature at the preferable level (I can't remember what number it is) then when near to hatching time or when they've hatched, place them under a suitably broody hen who then adopts them. |
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