- Mar 24, 2014
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I got my first chicks ever from Meyer Hatchery earlier this spring. They arrived on May 29th, at 2 days old. They're roughly 6 weeks old right now, and I am everything but 100% sure that one of the 2 Welsummers I ordered is a rooster.
Given the fox family living in the field next to my house, and the abundance of other wildlife, having one rooster doesn't seem like a bad thing. And I've heard that Welsummer roosters are the nicest roosters. He certainly seems to be so far.
But I ordered 3 Wyandottes, 1 Orpington, 2 Ameracaunas, and 2 Welsummers. And I think what I got are all Heinz 57's. The Ameracaunas do have muffs, and the Welsummers are Welsummer colored (and the Orpington actually looks like an Orpington!) but the Ameracaunas have blue/ pink legs & feet, one Welsummer has yellow legs & feet and the other has tannish brown...at least the Blue Orpington has blue legs! My point is while they arrived very healthy and are good tempered chicks, I am wondering, now that I have a rooster, if it is irresponsible to let them have chicks next year? I suspect the answer is yes.
I know if you're not looking to have chicks you just stay vigilant about collecting the eggs! Otoh I do think it would be neat to have baby chicks raised naturally, by their mom.
I am thinking that this flock may never be a good flock to use for breeding purposes (nor were they ever intended to be used that way) but that next year I may try to get a breeding pair or two (or four) of one of the Heritage breeds.
I know this is probably different for everyone, but I just wanted to know what other people's standards are--no chicks in this case, or it's fine?
Given the fox family living in the field next to my house, and the abundance of other wildlife, having one rooster doesn't seem like a bad thing. And I've heard that Welsummer roosters are the nicest roosters. He certainly seems to be so far.
But I ordered 3 Wyandottes, 1 Orpington, 2 Ameracaunas, and 2 Welsummers. And I think what I got are all Heinz 57's. The Ameracaunas do have muffs, and the Welsummers are Welsummer colored (and the Orpington actually looks like an Orpington!) but the Ameracaunas have blue/ pink legs & feet, one Welsummer has yellow legs & feet and the other has tannish brown...at least the Blue Orpington has blue legs! My point is while they arrived very healthy and are good tempered chicks, I am wondering, now that I have a rooster, if it is irresponsible to let them have chicks next year? I suspect the answer is yes.
I know if you're not looking to have chicks you just stay vigilant about collecting the eggs! Otoh I do think it would be neat to have baby chicks raised naturally, by their mom.
I am thinking that this flock may never be a good flock to use for breeding purposes (nor were they ever intended to be used that way) but that next year I may try to get a breeding pair or two (or four) of one of the Heritage breeds.
I know this is probably different for everyone, but I just wanted to know what other people's standards are--no chicks in this case, or it's fine?