I think I have a lot of Roosters!? <(

[Iamaqte]

Alrighty well it is getting to be around 12 weeks for my chickens. I got them around mother's day this passed year and they were tiny tiny babies.. so they couldnt have been more then a few days old. Well my husbands uncle gave me them since we won a lot that he got from an auction. Needless to say I dont know much about them, except they were marked as "layers". Well now my chickens in my opinion are HUGE!! Still no eggs yet either. Anyone have any ideas what breeds they are?

Well there are some that I can tell you right away is male or right away is female, but I have about 12 or so that look like the pictures below.. my husband says they are males, I think they are females. I think this because of their butt feathers and because none of them are crowing and I have some younger roosters crowing already. Can anyone take a look and tell me what they think?

I know it isnt safe to have a lot of roosters, even though when i was younger we were lucky: we had 3 roosters and 2 hens.. and they all seemed to get along... but I know that doesn't happen often. I am really worried about what ones I am going to have to get rid of and I dont want to get rid of them unless I know for sure that they are males. Plus if they are all males I am going to be taking out a huge chunk of my flock. I am so not happy about this at all!!

We are thinking about taking them somewhere to get butchered = but i dont know if I want to do that yet. What is the oldest they should be when you want to kill them for food?

I know there is a lot of unanswered questions, but any help is greatly appricated!!

 

[Katelyn]

All look like roo's

Sorry

The one in the back in the first pic may be a pullet though.

 

[FamilyOfChickens]

In my opinion...Based on comb size and color, I'd say roos. My two Ameracauna roos combs are not that big at 17 or so weeks. Also, I'm not seeing any long tail feathers like I did with our boys, or the cape-type feathers on their neck. Could it be a faster maturing breed, or one that has naturally large combs and wattles? Because those are VERY roo-ish heads...But especially in the last pic, her tail feathers look exactly like some of my pullets'.

Until someone can figure out what breed they are, it's kind of hard to tell.

They are to early to start laying, but have you heard any attempts at crowing? If not, within a week or two you should, if they are indeed roosters.

I hope you have a flock of pretty, fast-maturing pullets there!!!

 

[countrygirl4513]

I agree with the others... roo's. It is a headache having so many. I just gave away 7 of mine. I knew there would be heck to pay as far as my hens go.

 

[Iamaqte]

The ones that look like Roo's (the ones I have no doubt about, crow)... These ones do not.. They "purr" around like my other hens. I just wish I knew what they were breed wise... I guess as they start crowing I will start eliminating..

Dumb Question ALERT - Do all Roo's Crow?

Another note - I have seen my chickens, that I know are roosters, mount some of these chickens..

I am so confused!!

 

[JackieK318]

Well, my Splash Andalusian hasn't crowed yet, but he's all boy 12 weeks. My Blue Andalusian crowed at 6 weeks. Sometimes if others are crowing, the under dogs won't crow since they're not top chicken. Also, my Blue Andalusian would mount my shoes, so if it, hen or not, looks mildly appealing, they'll service it.

 

[lady chicken whisperer]

In no way do all roosters crow. I have a Barred Rock bantam cochin that i would have SWORN was a hen because of the way it talked so much. Turned out to be a rooster but hes the most gorgeous bird I have. Hes only crowed once in 5 months though. This is suprising considering i have 5 other crowing roosters that never stop.

 

[silkiechicken]

Sorry, they all look like roosters to me if they are only 12 weeks old! They would make good table birds anywhere between 16-18 weeks old. Just have to remember to age them so they aren't as tough.

 

[SandraChick]

Young roosters that are surrounded by dominant older roosters often start to crow late....it's an intimidation thing I think.

Sandra