All My Roosters

[Cindy Purvis]

Hi everyone. I am new to raising chickens so I had a friend that has done it go with me to pick 6 new chicks (4 weeks old). Well I now have, I think, 5 roos, much to my chagrin. I love these guys and they all know their "mama". But they are only 4 months old and I know things may get ugly soon. I am just "hoping" that one of my buff orpingtons could be a hen......althought I think probably not. Anyway, wanted to post a couple of pics to see what you think.

 

[Nyboy]

Hi and welcome have you joined sister site Backyard chickens? They really know their chickens there.

 

[so lucky]

Welcome to our forum. I think BYC is kind of hard to navigate since they changed a couple years ago.
It's hard to tell from the photos. The boys will often have a larger comb, even at 4 months, and maybe sturdier legs. But if you have all boys, there's nothing to compare to! That's bad luck, to be sure. If you plan to send the boys to freezer camp, you might want to not get any more attached to them. Makes it that much harder.
If you have to get rid of these boys, next time you get chicks, you might want to get sex-links, or pre-sexed "day-olds". Much less chance of this happening.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sorry but all four of those look like cockerels. The combs and wattles (size and color), and legs are clues, but you see how the tail feathers are curving? That's not good. Also the saddle and hackle feathers are coming in pointed, not round. The saddle feathers are in the small of the back, the hackle feathers are between the head and body. Maybe you can see the differences in that pullet, at least I hope so.

There is a trap people fall into when picking chicks. Even at a very young age males are bolder and more curious. They will go check things out while the females tend to hang back and let the boys take the chances. The boys have personality while the girls try to blend in. No wonder the boys get picked. This stuff does not come with guarantees but try to go for the boring ones next time.

Welcome to the forum. Glad you joined us. We were just talking about cooking chicken on that chicken soup thread if you are interested.

 

[Nyboy]

Wow what a great tip for picking out chicks.

 

[Just-Moxie]

The cockerels DO seem to be more aggressive.... interested in their surroundings. I have also had a few chicks whose combs got quite red while still young. My suspicions turned out to be correct, that they were cockerels.

 

[catjac1975]

I sell Lavender Orpington chicks. I only sell straight run-they are impossible for me to know which are which. To top it off, the roos look like hens until they are quite old and they are slow to mature. Then one day, the legs get long, and one tail feather sticks straight up in the air. The combs and wattles enlarge late also. Some of the hens have quite large combs too. I had an expert at sexing chicks come to buy 2. She picked 2 roos. If i were selecting from straight run I would be sure I picked 2 different kind of wing feathers to be sure I got at least 1 hen. Each breed presents differently. Even the hatcheries have some breeds that they only sell straight run. I know you like your birds, Cindy, but buy sexed birds from a hatchery. My pet chicken will sell only a few chicks, but, of course they are very pricey for that option. Don't be offended by this, home grown chicken is the most delicious you will ever eat.I give away my extra roos on a local Facebook site for homesteaders. Of course they eat them.I would eat mine but the Lavenders are really only good for soup. I do not slaughter myself so it is too pricey for a soup chicken

 

[catjac1975]

Hi everyone. I am new to raising chickens so I had a friend that has done it go with me to pick 6 new chicks (4 weeks old). Well I now have, I think, 5 roos, much to my chagrin. I love these guys and they all know their "mama". But they are only 4 months old and I know things may get ugly soon. I am just "hoping" that one of my buff orpingtons could be a hen......althought I think probably not. Anyway, wanted to post a couple of pics to see what you think.View attachment 9903 View attachment 9904

Have they started to crow? Don't look like roos to me.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Cat, look at those tail feathers. Pullets' tail feathers don't curl like that.

Sometimes the differences in male/female kick in pretty well about five weeks. Usually it's a lot easier for me to say that one is a male and harder to say for sure that one is a female at five weeks. But I also sometimes have some at three months or later that I'm just not sure. Some males develop so much slower than others. There is some science to it but there is a whole lot of art and experience too.

To me, Buff Orps are often a bit harder than some others. I think it is the thick feathers.

 

[canesisters]

The little stealth chick that started while I was on vaca hatched out looking 'roo' .
The older he gets the more he looks like a little bruiser boy!