I have two questions. One is, how old can a Buff Orphington rooster get before he is too tough for the skillet and has to go to the soup pot?

Second, I have 3 roosters that are pestering our hens so much that they won't come off thier roosts all day - not even to go outside for some fresh air. They will hop into the laying box and lay thier eggs, then just come down for a quick bite to eat and drink and then get the heck back to the roost before they are surrounded for a foursome...if you know what I mean. Any one else had a simular problem and short of the soup pot, any suggestions? We don't have any place to separate them and need the roosters for more chicks.

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002

Answers

Karen, How many hens do you have? If I remember right 1 rooster per 10 hens would provide you with fertile eggs all the way around. Depending on how many hens you have you might consider culling 2 or 3 of them. Also I have noticed that the older the hen the more likely the roosters are to gang up on them. Any old roosters past say 6 months I cook in the pressure cooker pull the meat off the bones and make noodles. I've never found one to tough yet. If after cooking they are tough just recook for 1/2 hour or so. Linda

-- Linda (awesomegodchristianministries@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

Right now I have ten hens and two roosters and am having this same problem. A couple of the hens are completely bare backed. One of the roosters definitely has to go! I suggest the same solution for you, sorry. Depending on how many hens you have, one or two roosters is probably plenty. (One rooster to 10 or 15 hens).

-- mary (mlg@mlg.com), April 18, 2002.

I leave one rooster.......period. I only do that because I like to hear one crow, and if things fall apart I want to have fertile eggs to hatch replacements. In the 50 years I have kept chickens off an on, two roosters always seems to compete as to who can do the most and they destroy the serenity of my hens.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), April 18, 2002.

Karen, you don't any roosters at all! If you just want eggs, put all the roosters in the pressure cooker. The hens are healthier, they lay better and hold thier weight better without roosters around. Also, I have found(with ducks)that usually if I want ducklings, I want purebreds, unrelated to the ones I already have and nice peepers are cheap and easy to get shipped in, whether they are ducks or chicks. Besides this is an excuse to try another breed! Shhhh, don't tell anyone I said that! LOL LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), April 18, 2002.

You really need to just have 1 roo with your hens. If you're wanting to keep all 3 for breeding purposes, then you'll have to keep 2 in a separate pen.

Besides setting some food and water up especially for then hens so they don't starve, there's no other way to fix your situation. Even this idea isn't a good one; those hens NEED to get off the roost so they don't develop foot problems.

-- Buk (noaddy@tiredofspam.com), April 18, 2002.

Thanks everyone! It looks like 2 roosters to the soup pot!

-- Karen (mountains_mama2@hotmail.com), April 18, 2002.