How can I tell if these Australorp chicks are hens or roosters?

[Toodles]

I have five seven week old Australorp chicks that I got at the local farm store; all were supposed to all be pullets. Three developed tail feathers the first week, two barely have tail feathers at seven weeks old. These two also have developed pink to red combs and wattles that are much larger and more developed than the three pullets. The pullets have small, yellow combs and no wattle development yet.

The attached pictures are of the suspected roosters.

If these are roosters and they breed with my hens, will the hens hatch and raise the baby chicks without intervention on my part? I also have 11 RIR and Barred Rock hens that are 2 years old, will Australorp roosters also breed with these hens? The only experience I have with roosters is once again buying pullets and getting a rooster in the bunch. He was extremely aggressive and was culled before he was a year old. Not a good experience, not sure I want anything to do with a rooster again.

My hens are free ranged on the days I don't work during the warm months of the year so would a rooster be helpful in protecting them in this situation? I keep hens for the eggs and the only advantage I see in having a rooster is possibly growing the flock without having to raise baby chicks inside the house!


Any advice and answers to my questions is appreciated!

 

[appps]

A rooster will help protect a flock but at the end of the day they are just a bird up against much bigger and more powerful predators. Sometimes they protect by simply being the one that gets killed instead of a hen.

 

[bobbi-j]

Thanks for the information.  Dang, I wanted all hens!  One of the cockerels is pretty calm and lets me pick him up easily, the other one is kind of skittish.  Is their behavior at this young age relevant or in any way predict their adult personality? 

I would get rid of the one that lets you pick him up and keep the skittish one - he's the one that respects you. Search the forum and check out all of the "Mean Rooster" threads. You will see that it is quite often the friendliest, most "tame" one that turns into a nightmare. Or - since you wanted all hens in the first place - get rid of both cockerels and replace them with two more pullets.

 

[bobbi-j]

If you're not planning on breeding, I would not keep the roosters and feed them the expensive organic feed. That seems like a waste of money to me.

 

[Pyxis]

These are both cockerels. If your hens go broody, yes, they will hatch and raise chicks once these two are old enough to breed with them. They won't discriminate, so they will mate with your RIRs and BRs too. Also, any eggs hatched from your barred rocks will be sex links - chicks that hatch with a white dot on their head will be male and those without one will be female. This is 100% accurate so you'll know the gender of those chicks from hatch

They will help protect your flock, that's one of a rooster's main jobs. He'll look out for danger and alert the hens if he sees any.

 

[DreamsInPink]

Also, any eggs hatched from your barred rocks will be sex links - chicks that hatch with a white dot on their head will be male and those without one will be female. This is 100% accurate so you'll know the gender of those chicks from hatch

Barred Rocks are sex links?

 

[Pyxis]

Also, any eggs hatched from your barred rocks will be sex links - chicks that hatch with a white dot on their head will be male and those without one will be female. This is 100% accurate so you'll know the gender of those chicks from hatch

Barred Rocks are sex links?

No, but chicks that are a cross between an australorp rooster and barred rocks are, which is what the chicks would be.

 

[DreamsInPink]

No, but chicks that are a cross between an australorp rooster and barred rocks are, which is what the chicks would be.

Oh.... ok. I thought it was a RIR rooster and BR hen that made the sexlinks... with the males having a spot on the head and the girls not having the spot...? Or is that wrong?

 

[Pyxis]

Oh.... ok. I thought it was a RIR rooster and BR hen that made the sexlinks... with the males having a spot on the head and the girls not having the spot...? Or is that wrong?

Yes, those are also sex links. It's not just RIR males over barred rock hens that do this. It's any male that's not white and not barred.

 

[DreamsInPink]

Yes, those are also sex links. It's not just RIR males over barred rock hens that do this. It's any male that's not white and not barred.

Oh ok.... so only black males? I'm wondering about Buff Orpingtons? I have 24 straight run, so I imagine I'll keep one of those roosters. But I'll have 3 BR hens.