Three Roosters Is Two Too Many

Our three chicks have grown up -- they are the same size as the 12 chickens that we started with. The chicks are all half Araucana, half something else, since our original rooster, Kabob, is an Araucana (the green egg chickens that come from Chile). We refer to them as Red (red-brown, actually), Yellow (gold speckled), and Blue (black). We don't consider these names, since we don't want to eat something that we've named.

Unfortunately, two of the three are roosters. We were hoping for hens, since we keep our chickens for eggs, not meat. But at the age of about three months, Red and Blue started sprouting beautiful black tail feathers -- a sure sign. The three chicks are social pariahs, staying in their own small group and roosting on a separate roost at night. A few weeks ago, Red and Blue starting jumping the hens, another pretty clear indication, and one that seriously annoys Kabob. Tensions in the hen house are high, not helped by being stuck indoors because of the cold and snow, with regular scuffles if no fights with visible injuries. It's time to do something about those extra roosters. No one wants layer-breed roosters, though. Their days are numbered.