3-4 week old Leghorn pullets or cockerels? Any guesses?

When the one first crowed on Sunday it was after my daughter had picked up and was holding the Leghorn pullet. One of the cockerels does seem rather protective of the pullet more than the others. These little leghorns are now living with the rest of the flock of 22 which is all pullets ranging in age from 7-12 weeks. I have 2-3 week old chicks in my smaller coop/run now so until they are big enough to integrate with the larger flock, don't really have a place to keep the cockerels separated. I guess we may have to devise something if the fighting gets worse or they get big enough to do more than superficial damage to each other before we decide who stays and who has to go. If they are together but away from the ladies, they will be less aggressive with each other? I guess I may have to consider making the smaller coop/run a bachelor pad once the babies move out.
I'd be very careful. If that young cockerel crowed when your daughter picked up his girl, that can be a sign of aggression. Cockerels/roosters crow to claim resources and females. He was yelling at your daughter 'She's MINE!' I hope it never happens, but he could become human aggressive.

I'm not saying your daughter shouldn't be able to pick up the chickens... I'm saying his behavior needs to be corrected, and quickly.
 
I'd be very careful. If that young cockerel crowed when your daughter picked up his girl, that can be a sign of aggression. Cockerels/roosters crow to claim resources and females. He was yelling at your daughter 'She's MINE!' I hope it never happens, but he could become human aggressive.

I'm not saying your daughter shouldn't be able to pick up the chickens... I'm saying his behavior needs to be corrected, and quickly.
That's how I interpreted it too and made a mental note of it to look out for it in my further observations for deciding who to keep. We have all been very interactive with our chickens and want to be able to go out and sit with them, so a rooster that sees us as a threat rather than part of the flock won't be tolerated. Any tips on correcting the behavior? I found it funny that he ran under the coop first then crowed, like I'm gonna act like a tough guy from my safe space. :hmm
 
That's how I interpreted it too and made a mental note of it to look out for it in my further observations for deciding who to keep. We have all been very interactive with our chickens and want to be able to go out and sit with them, so a rooster that sees us as a threat rather than part of the flock won't be tolerated. Any tips on correcting the behavior? I found it funny that he ran under the coop first then crowed, like I'm gonna act like a tough guy from my safe space. :hmm
how old is your daughter? If old enough, she may need to be the one to correct behavior since its expressed towards her.

To be honest, I'd get rid of him before he becomes a serious problem.
 
Should I be concerned about the cockerels fighting each other? They are quite vicious with each other at times despite their tiny size. I would say 99% of the time they get along just fine though and they keep it to themselves, and aren't bullying anyone else in the flock at this point. Do I need to break them up if I see them going at each other or just let them get it out of their system.

I would just leave them to it.

These little leghorns are now living with the rest of the flock of 22 which is all pullets ranging in age from 7-12 weeks. I have 2-3 week old chicks in my smaller coop/run now so until they are big enough to integrate with the larger flock, don't really have a place to keep the cockerels separated.

As long as they're not bothering the other chickens, I wouldn't bother trying to separate them.

I've been observing them when I can hoping it will help me decide who stays.
Can you tell them apart? If you cannot tell them apart, you could try putting food coloring on them. I've seen pictures of white Silkies dyed with food coloring, and it apparently stays on for a while without hurting the chickens. It would just make them look funny :lol:
 
how old is your daughter? If old enough, she may need to be the one to correct behavior since its expressed towards her.

To be honest, I'd get rid of him before he becomes a serious problem.
My daughter just turned 10, so she's old enough to be instructed. We had also been gone for two days and the neighbors had been watching our flock for us. So that could have been a factor. Appreciate the concern though.
 
I would just leave them to it.



As long as they're not bothering the other chickens, I wouldn't bother trying to separate them.


Can you tell them apart? If you cannot tell them apart, you could try putting food coloring on them. I've seen pictures of white Silkies dyed with food coloring, and it apparently stays on for a while without hurting the chickens. It would just make them look funny :lol:
I can tell them apart when they are all together, but there are 2 pairs that have similar looking combs/wattles that are difficult to tell apart if they are not together and then there is the runt one who was the only one that got a name when they came to us because he was so much smaller. So the dye sounds like a good idea! That way we can easily tell who is developing bad/good character traits.
 
This is how well they behave together most of the time.
IMG_20210608_132043788.jpg
 
Woah five cockerels and two pullets, probably will want to get rid of the roosters, if you get a fertilized egg from one of those hens but the rooster is from the same family they have a lot more of a chance of being deformed.
but they sure are beautiful chicks.
 

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