7-week old EE, Please tell me it's not a rooster!

[robinwiththechickens]

I have six 7-week old EE's and they were all supposed to be pullets, but now I have two that have larger combs than the rest of the bunch and they are starting to turn red. Please tell me they aren't roosters!

The pics I have are of the biggest chick with the biggest comb.

Thanks for your help.

 

[LindsayB]

Thats a little rooster allright!

 

[fshinggrl]

Quote:
Sorry.. definitely a rooster.

 

[EweSheep]

Yep a roo. Even his neck feathers are more pointed than the pullet. Sorry!

 

[gryeyes]

Congratulations! It's a boy!

I know you didn't want to learn that, but EE roosters are gorgeous fellows. Mine is a wonderful Flock Master, too!

 

[crawfordmama]

You've got a handsome young fellow! On the bright side, many EE roos tend to have a gentle demeanor.

 

[robinwiththechickens]

Well great.

So, how long do I have before this little boy and the other chick I'm suspicious of start fighting?

 

[JustAChickenLittle&More]

If they grow up together they may not fight at all. Oh they'll jockey for position when they are about 6 months or older.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
They may never fight. They will do the pecking order thing, bumping chests, flaring neck feathers, etc., but even pullets do that. It's just a dominance thing.

I have SEVERAL grown up roosters and they don't fight. They KNOW Carl is the dominant rooster. One cockerel challenged him once, and it was a spectacularly loud bout which lasted just over five minutes. Nobody was injured because it was mostly screaming, jumping at each other, flaring up all their feathers, flapping wings, etc. A few feathers flew. Then the challenger gave up and it was all over. He retreated and for the longest time just stayed out of Carl's way.

Many flocks have more than one rooster, one is always dominant and the other is subordinate to him. And if they grow up together, they may be BFFs except one will get mating rights.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I vote roo!

The recommended rooster to hen ratio is 1:8 or 1:10, or of course, more hens. With some breeds, like silkies, you can have one roo to 5 or 6 hens in a pinch. If your hens get overbred with one roo and 4 hens, you can get hen saddles for them.

I would think they will be ok since they have been raised together until they start mating, but I have limited experience with roosters, as I tend to sell my roos before they get too old. I do have 4 now, juvenile ones- only one is mating.

You might need to rehome one of them for sure. You might want to wait and choose the one with the best disposition to keep. I recently sold off my dominant silkie roo that kept biting me and kept my nice little docile silkie roo.