Washingtonians Come Together! Washington Peeps

[tajuano]

We have 3 roosters and no babies, just take the eggs daily and you will be fine, we had some chickens go broody couple of times but i just took away eggs.

 

[SunnySky]

My Mottled / Spangled Orpington chicks are growing out nicely! They all are for sale. PM me if you're interested.

 

[LBurt6]

Tried to gets few photos of the chicks since its been a few weeks since I've taken any but the hens weren't willing to share the limelight. #DivaHens

I did manage one photo of one of the cockerels.

 

[Birdnovice24]

Hi!  Welcome to the group.
If your boy comes from a good line you might find buyers on the Brahma thread.  There's also Craigs List and a few "groups" on facebook where folks buy/sell/trade animals.  You can search for Kitsap, Western Washington, etc. 

Thank you CarolynF and MargaretYakoda for your feedback. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my cockeral. Maybe I will keep him... just to clarify, if I collect the eggs promptly, can we still eat them? If they are fertilized, is there a blood spot, and is that ok to eat as well? I know this is probably a dumb question but I'm still a little green on the chicken front

 

[Birdnovice24]

Good points. If you're not pressured by neighbors or local laws, you might want to think about keeping your cockerel. They DO have good reasons to be in a flock.

My other question about keeping a cockerel is, my girls are one light brahma, two americaunas, and one silkie. Should I be concerned about not having enough other hens to keep him busy and/or hurting the silkie?

 

[ochochicas]

Fertilized eggs are fine to eat. They will not start to develop into chicks unless they are incubated at 99 degrees consistently. You can actually store the eggs on the counter in the house and they will be fine. Blood spots are not a result of being incubated. My Marans hens had blood spot in their yolks before we ever had a rooster. It is a trait in some breeds and is not associated with being fertilized. I've even read that fertilized eggs store longer than non-fertilized eggs.

We actually have 3 roosters at the moment. They are way more entertaining than hens. In addition, they are prettier and will also help protect the hens from predators. My roosters all live in the coop together and get along just fine. Of course not everyone want to have a rooster, but you won't know if you like it until you try it.

 

[CarolynF]

Hi!  Welcome to the group.
If your boy comes from a good line you might find buyers on the Brahma thread.  There's also Craigs List and a few "groups" on facebook where folks buy/sell/trade animals.  You can search for Kitsap, Western Washington, etc. 

Thank you CarolynF and MargaretYakoda for your feedback. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my cockeral. Maybe I will keep him... just to clarify, if I collect the eggs promptly, can we still eat them? If they are fertilized, is there a blood spot, and is that ok to eat as well? I know this is probably a dumb question but I'm still a little green on the chicken front

No problem, ask all the questions you have, there's a learning curve for all of us at one time or another.

People eat fertile eggs all the time, it's perfectly normal. A blood spot is totally ok to eat, just remove it if you don't like the look of it. It has nothing to do with fertility. And don't worry about collecting eggs frequently, at the end of the day is fine. If a hen/pullet decides to go broody it's a hormonal thing and can be dealt with. It has nothing to do with the presence of a rooster. I've never had a rooster but I've had several broody girls!

 

[DaveOmak]

My other question about keeping a cockerel is, my girls are one light brahma, two americaunas, and one silkie. Should I be concerned about not having enough other hens to keep him busy and/or hurting the silkie?

My cockerel badgered the KR@P out of the hens... I had 7 hens.... that was not enough to satisfy him.... He would attack them all day... He wouldn't hurt them... They still had all their feathers... They just hid and ran at every opportunity to keep away.... One even died from the harassment....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/930788/hatching-box-quarantine-box-multi-purpose-cage

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/930962/1-dead-hen-this-am

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/927641/young-rooster-behavior

 

[Birdnovice24]

My cockerel badgered the KR@P out of the hens...   I had 7 hens....   that was not enough to satisfy him....   He would attack them all day...   He wouldn't hurt them... They still had all their feathers...   They just hid and ran at every opportunity to keep away....  One even died from the harassment....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/930788/hatching-box-quarantine-box-multi-purpose-cage

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/930962/1-dead-hen-this-am

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/927641/young-rooster-behavior

That's terrible! Poor girl! I'm also playing with the quarantine idea but am not sure if he would get too lonely or over aggressive if I keep him away from the girls. I don't want to take the chance that he hurts any of them, especially the silkie since she's so small. Can roosters live happy lives as loners?

 

[Birdnovice24]

Here's a fun update, turns out I actually have 2 cockerels instead of 1! 90% odds? I just lost the hen lottery pretty badly!