1st time chick mom with a cockerel

[Nay117]

Hello! I have a mixed flock (7 total) that is about 4 weeks (some I think are a little older than others).. with 2 sebright bantams and the other girls are all regular sized. I learned over the past week that Tina (one of my bantams) is a cockerel. I have been so upset and torn up about potentially giving him away. Figures it is my favorite chick!! He is super friendly, comes when called, and with my little to no previous knowledge on chicken behavior is quite the gentleman and loves his little bantam girl Ruthie (who I'm praying is gunna stay to be what looks like a pullet). Some of my regular sized pullets seem more dominant than this little guy. I never imagined having a rooster in my small backyard flock. My town does allow roosters but we are close to neighbors. The thought of crowing makes me slightly nervous and I've been watching videos of little bantams crow. I get kind of weirded out at the thought of fertilized eggs and that we will be eating them. And I do have a lot of neices and nephews so I of course dont want my sweet little Tina to become a hormonal mean roo.
I guess what I am asking is how do you raise a rooster? lol What is the egg protocol? Collect twice a day wash & refrigerate? Can I leave on counter still unwashed? how long? does he need his own bachelor house coop? Can he even mate with the larger hens? Will he focus so much on my little bantam girl Ruthie that he hurts her? The two of them are VERY bonded and she is very shy so Tina constantly brings her treats. Just trying to get all my information because I am leaning towards keeping him and seeing if he stays a good boy or if eventually I would rehome (which will break my heart). Thank you all so much in advance!

 

[Callender Girl]

Your little boy is a beauty! While it's possible he will become a problem, it's also possible he won't. Since your town allows roosters, if it was me, I would wait and see how things go.

I have one rooster who came here with his two hens. They have both passed away and he lives with his two daughters. Clearly, I don't want chicks from that close family relationship.

I treat those eggs like any other -- collected daily, they go on the counter, unrefrigerated. Don't worry about them being fertilized; there won't be baby chicks in eggs that have just been laid. Based on the amount of mating taking place among my runner ducks, I eat fertilized eggs all the time!

He MIGHT try to breed larger hens. I think it depends on the birds. Sir Henry the Loud, if left to his own devices, would breed all the girls. Many are not interested in his advances. Some rooster are like him; some choose favorite hens to "romance."

I hope everything works out for you. Good luck!

 

[sybonbon]

Hello! I have a mixed flock (7 total) that is about 4 weeks (some I think are a little older than others).. with 2 sebright bantams and the other girls are all regular sized. I learned over the past week that Tina (one of my bantams) is a cockerel. I have been so upset and torn up about potentially giving him away. Figures it is my favorite chick!! He is super friendly, comes when called, and with my little to no previous knowledge on chicken behavior is quite the gentleman and loves his little bantam girl Ruthie (who I'm praying is gunna stay to be what looks like a pullet). Some of my regular sized pullets seem more dominant than this little guy. I never imagined having a rooster in my small backyard flock. My town does allow roosters but we are close to neighbors. The thought of crowing makes me slightly nervous and I've been watching videos of little bantams crow. I get kind of weirded out at the thought of fertilized eggs and that we will be eating them. And I do have a lot of neices and nephews so I of course dont want my sweet little Tina to become a hormonal mean roo.
I guess what I am asking is how do you raise a rooster? lol What is the egg protocol? Collect twice a day wash & refrigerate? Can I leave on counter still unwashed? how long? does he need his own bachelor house coop? Can he even mate with the larger hens? Will he focus so much on my little bantam girl Ruthie that he hurts her? The two of them are VERY bonded and she is very shy so Tina constantly brings her treats. Just trying to get all my information because I am leaning towards keeping him and seeing if he stays a good boy or if eventually I would rehome (which will break my heart). Thank you all so much in advance!

What signs make you think it's a He? Most chickens can't be sexed at 4 weeks. 8 weeks it's usually more apparent.

 

[MountainWoman73]

A banty rooster can be nice. Sometimes they're not, but we had one that was a lap chicken his whole life. He did try to mate our standard hens, and when they ran away he would ride them like a little cowboy (hilarious).

Another user on here, Mrs K, posted something SO TRUE that made me smile: The best roosters come from people with sharp knives. Meaning, good roosters are luck of the draw, and don't keep one if he becomes a problem. It isn't worth it.

As for eggs, fertile eggs are no different than unfertile eggs for eating purposes. Collect once a day, leave on the counter if unwashed. All that's fine. Banty hens do tend to go broody, so if you don't want chicks, watch out for them sneaking off to lay in the bushes. My parents had surprise chicks twice.

 

[Folly's place]

As mentioned already, he might be fine, or not. Maybe Tim, not Tina? Tiny?
There's a lot of conflicting advice about raising roosters, probably because genetics matters, and so good or obnoxious boys can be raised different ways, with no one clear 'best' way.
Here we don't make pets out of our cockerels, they are expected to pay attention to their flockmates, and get out of the way as we walk through the flock. 'Friendly' can become 'bold' and aggressive as they mature, and especially because this boy doesn't have adult birds to give him some humbling experiences, he might think he's just wonderful in every way.
Just see how he does over time, and enjoy!
Mary

 

[aart]

What signs make you think it's a He? Most chickens can't be sexed at 4 weeks. 8 weeks it's usually more apparent.

Many can tho.
That red comb is a pretty good sign.

 

[Ridgerunner]

\about 4 weeks (some I think are a little older than others)

At that age the comb and heavy legs scream boy. I don't see any room for doubt.

Figures it is my favorite chick!!

That's a trap many people fall into. The boys are more curious and adventurous even at a very young age. The boys are the ones that come out to meet you while the girls hang back. The boys show a lot of personality. They are usually going to be the favorites as young chicks. If you have a choice when you are picking them out and want girls pick healthy but shy ones. They have personality too.

I get kind of weirded out at the thought of fertilized eggs and that we will be eating them.

People have been eating fertilized eggs forever. They are just as nutritious as unfertilized eggs but no more nutritious. If you do not incubate them they will not develop. Some people do have these types of concerns. That's just a personal choice for you.

And I do have a lot of neices and nephews so I of course dont want my sweet little Tina to become a hormonal mean roo. I guess what I am asking is how do you raise a rooster?

I don't know. It's an old argument, nature versus nurture. I think both play a part. But you will get a lot of different opinions on this and you will find stories of roosters that turned out fine and some that were aggressive no matter how they were raised. My suggestion is to observe and make your decisions about keeping him by what you see.

What is the egg protocol? Collect twice a day wash & refrigerate? Can I leave on counter still unwashed?

Different people do different things. About the last thing a hen does when she lays an egg is to coat it with a fast-drying liquid we call "bloom". That bloom helps stop bacteria from getting in the porous egg. As long as that bloom barrier is intact it is pretty effective. That's why hens can lay eggs for a couple of weeks and then incubate them for three more weeks without bacteria getting inside. I store the clean ones on my counter unwashed, but you don't want the room temperature to get too high. I stay below 80 Fahrenheit.

If you wash the eggs or scratch the surface you have broken the bloom barrier. Those eggs should be stored in your refrigerator. The temperature in there is so low bacteria can't grow. If an egg is dirty it should be washed. A glob of dirt or poop means the bloom barrier has been broken.

how long? does he need his own bachelor house coop?

Mine stay with the flock, never has a bachelor pad.

Can he even mate with the larger hens?

Your sebright is tiny. He will try and may be successful with the larger hens. You just don't know.

Will he focus so much on my little bantam girl Ruthie that he hurts her?

Don't know. Sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn't. This is another thing that you need to go by what you see.

You don't get guarantees on animal behavior, about anything can happen. I know people want yes or no, black or white answers. Real life doesn't work that way. My typical suggestion is to keep as few boys as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you are guaranteed problems with more boys but that problems are more likely. I don't know what the right number is for you, 0 or 1. That has to be your decision.

Good luck!

 

[Nay117]

What signs make you think it's a He? Most chickens can't be sexed at 4 weeks. 8 weeks it's usually more apparent.

he is a golden laced sebright bantam and I had posted a few threads asking about breed and gender and everyone said 100% cockerel based off his comb development. he has a single comb not a rose one like they should (got from tractor supply so I read that fertility is low on the rose comb). I would be so happy if he turned out to be a she! lol

 

[sybonbon]

he is a golden laced sebright bantam and I had posted a few threads asking about breed and gender and everyone said 100% cockerel based off his comb development. he has a single comb not a rose one like they should (got from tractor supply so I read that fertility is low on the rose comb). I would be so happy if he turned out to be a she! lol

Experts on here once told me I had a SLW cockerel based on comb and feathering. Oops. They made a mistake. It happens. I can't guess either way because I've never had that breed.

 

[Swbertrand1]

We have a 3 year old Silkie rooster that hatched on-site in April of 2018. Once we determined "she" was a he, we waited to see how it went. He's a gentleman, treats his girls great, watches out like a sentinel when they're free-ranging in the late afternoon, and has produced a couple dozen beautiful offspring. He'll allow you to hold him, doesn't kick, complain, or try to get away either - almost like he likes to be held.

Wait, and see what shakes out. At 4 weeks, it's pretty tough to tell boys from girls, but boys aren't so bad. Yes, our Silkie will belt out a yell with the best of them, but we keep him toned down as much as we can with a few squirts of the water hose, and we've even used a "No-Crow" collar on him for a time. The No Crow should really be called "Low-Crow" because it doesn't eliminate the sound, rather prevents him from fully filling the area of his throat that allows him to really let loose!

In any case, you may have a long-term love on your hands, or you may have a roo that gets more feisty as he matures. There's just no way to know how his hormones will affect him as he ages/matures.

Good luck with him!