Rooster or Hen that Crows?

[noelgeorgia]

Hi everyone,

'm new to raising hens and got 9 chicks from a local husband and wife who are fairly new to incubating eggs. They thought they identified 1 as a rooster and 8 others as hens but at 15 weeks, we are finding out that 4 are roosters. The last one in question just started crowing the other day, but only when the alpha crows. He's the one we knew was a rooster from the begging.

The latest (Barred Rock mixed breed) doesn't seem to have the same rooster tail feathers so we are wondering if may this bird could be a hen that crows.

Looking forward to reading through all the discussion threads and appreciate your help! Picture is of the bird in question is attached. The same bird is in the video on the far right side crowing. Main alpha rooster in the middle has the loud crow. Funny the alpha crowed back and then looked at the other one to see what he/she was going to do. Trying to attach the video but might be too large.

 

[fluffycrow]

It's definitely a cockerel!

 

[Karasu]

Beautiful cockerel, without a doubt.

 

[nuthatched]

He has male saddle and hackles, along with big comb and wattles, he's a cockerel

 

[noelgeorgia]

Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate it. So if the 4 roosters we have are not aggressive (16 weeks), should we still dispatch 3 or maybe they will get along since they were raised together? We only have 5 hens now that the 4th rooster has been identified .

 

[fluffycrow]

You have way too many cockerels for the amount of pullets you have

 

[noelgeorgia]

You have way too many cockerels for the amount of pullets you have

I agree. I am trying to re-home 3 of them, but nobody seems to want them. They're such great roos and so pretty, so I hate to kill them, but we might have to.

 

[FunClucks]

If you have the space and desire, you could start a bachelor pad. It may work fine, until it doesn't. Being raised together helps them get along in the bachelor pad.

I hatched 20 chicks, 12 of which were roosters. So I grew them out in a bachelor pad. It worked well for 3 months, at which point I sold them. Was going to grow them out another month and eat them, but had too many things going on to have time for processing, and I really wanted to find homes for some of them, so I was glad to sell them.

 

[fluffycrow]

Ah yes, that totally slipped my mind. You could do a bachelor pad and keep all the extra males, and have one with your pullets, or you could just house all males in the bachelor pad. The article section has some great advice on rooster flocks

 

[noelgeorgia]

Ah yes, that totally slipped my mind. You could do a bachelor pad and keep all the extra males, and have one with your pullets, or you could just house all males in the bachelor pad. The article section has some great advice on rooster flocks

They free range during the day, so I'm guessing fighting could ensue at that point.