Identdifying young roosters.

[charliepsmith]

Hi,
My name is charlie and i am from Ireland. I am completely new to keeping chickens. I have 7 chickens which of which 5 are 10 weeks old and 2 are 8 weeks old.. I have 2 buff orpingtons, 2 cream crested legbars, 2 Silver laced wyandottes and a barnevelder at least i think thats what i have. I have them since they are a few days old. They seem to be doing well and are outside now for the last weeks or so. One of the Wyandottes tried to crow today and i am assuming it is a rooster. I am worried that i have 3 or 4 roosters but i am not sure. Can i keep all the roosters? A few of them seem to be squareing up to one another and its happening more reqularly. I am just looking to see if anybody can tell if they are roosters or not. Thanks for any help.



Pretty sure this one is a rooster, He seems to be the boss.

This is the wyandotte that tried to crow, and the smaller of the buff orpingtons.

This is the smaller silver laced wyandotte. 8 weeks old

This is the barnevelder. This one is only 8 weeks old.

One of the cream crested legbars, which i know are both girls.

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Barnevelder

 

[MotherOHens]

Well... it does look like your share of cockerels It looks like more than 3 but...
@OneHappyRooster has a sixth sense about gender on many breeds.

 

[Dottie the Chicken]

(Welcome to BYC!!)

 

[The Happster]

Keeping all the cockerels in a bachelor pad could work, if you have the space.

You will need to get more girls to keep that Buff Orp pullet company.
You can put one cockerel with the buff girl, and get more girls for that group, and then have the remaining cockerels in a separate group, not in view. Then those cockerels won't have a girl to fight over. Don't let them see the girls.

I recommend getting All-flock raiser, instead of layers pellets. That way you can safely feed all your birds, without the extra calcium harming the cockerels.
Just keep some calcium in a dish for the girls to take free choice.

 

[WallyBirdie]

Well, just as i was thinking. thanks for the replies. Would it be possible to keep them all or will they fight to much? I really dont want to get rid of any as me and my daughters have raised them from they a few days old and really like them all.

It is possible to keep them! There are ways around it. Bachelor pens are something you can look into for the roos.
Your boys might not fight at all if they are raised together. (I have 3 roos that get along great, and then I have one grump that doesn't get along with anyone!) One issue you might face, beyond fighting, is having your girls over-mated and stressed when the boys get older and hormonal.
Don't be discouraged right away. There are ways to work with them, and some roosters calm down when their hormones settle.
Take any advice with a grain of salt here, and do what is best for your situation.

Good luck!

Good luck!

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I see three cockerels. The barnevelder doesn’t really look like a cockerel to me, so far.

 

[Isyovi]

I'm quite new to keeping chickens too, but here are my guesses:
First picture looks like a cockerel, i think the high tail feathers are a hint of that. Not entirely sure though.
Second picture, the wyandotte looks like a cockerel but the buff orpington looks like a pullet to me.
Picture three looks also like a cockerel.
Picture four looks like a pullet.
And of course the legbar looks like a pullet.

 

[The Happster]

All cockerels, except the buff pullet in photo 2.
And the Legbar of course.

 

[charliepsmith]

Well, just as i was thinking. thanks for the replies. Would it be possible to keep them all or will they fight to much? I really dont want to get rid of any as me and my daughters have raised them from they a few days old and really like them all.

 

[Isyovi]

Well, just as i was thinking. thanks for the replies. Would it be possible to keep them all or will they fight to much? I really dont want to get rid of any as me and my daughters have raised them from they a few days old and really like them all.

The best thing is keeping one or two, if they have enouh hens and space for their own territory. My three cockerels have been together since they were chicks, they are 19 weeks old now but one is starting to become terratorial to the other two, we think we need to sell him. The other two are really like best buds and have neer really acted out against each other. I say let them get some older and keep the nicest ones.