Advice on roosters

[chickennana51]

I got baby chicks the first week of May and because of the quantity, I got a free black cochin chick. I'm in love with the little boo gar! So sweet! The only thing is I'm pretty sure my free chick is a roo rather than a hen. I will have 12 mixed variety hens, but I have always steered away from keeping a roo because of noise, attitude and not wanting fertilized eggs. They will all be in a large coop with a 12x12 enclosure. Just curious what others do that have roosters?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you found us.

The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is just personal preference. If you don't want a rooster (and your reasons are solid) get rid of him.

It is about four weeks old. In another week you might post photos so we can help you determine male or female. Give us a shot of the head showing the comb and wattles. We will be looking at size and the color of the comb and wattles. Also show a profile shot so we can see the legs, conformation, and posture. Those can give pretty good clues as to sex but it may still be challenging. Some chicks are a lot easier than others.

How do you get rid of him? Some of that might depend on where you are. We have people on this forum form all over the world so our options may vary.

If you are in the US you can use Craigslist or something similar to advertise a free chicken to your neighbors. You may be able to post a notice at your feed store. If you can find your state or country thread in the "Where am I? Where are you!" section of this forum you can maybe chat with your neighbors about it. Another option is to raise it to butcher size and eat it. Some people may just kill it and dispose of the body. Or you can keep it and see if it is a problem.

Finding a male when all you want are females can be a big issue. I wish you luck in solving the issue.

 

[chickennana51]

Here's my little happy feet. the wing feathers are all one length. the comb is a bit pronounce but i don't see a lot of waddle yet. they sent three other roos for "warmth" in the shipment, but they are leghorns, so they will be meat chickens. i have buddies in the area who will take it, but if i can work out a solution to keep it i may.

 

[Ridgerunner]

At four weeks with that comb that is a male.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

A article of mine

 

[TheTwoRoos]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/covering-everything-rooster-for-newbies.73680/

 

[coach723]

I usually have one or two roosters. I'm picky about the ones I keep, only the ones who are not aggressive to humans and are good to the girls. I actually enjoy having them around. 1 rooster to 10 hens is a good minimum ratio, but can vary depending on the individuals, less than that and you can start having overmating injuries.
It's really personal preference, and whether you can have a crowing rooster where you live. I don't even notice mine any more, it's just background noise, but some people are really annoyed by them. If he's VERY friendly and cuddly that can turn into an aggressive rooster down the road when he matures. If he's more standoffish and gets out of your way, a better sign of a good rooster when he matures, in my experience. Every one of them is different, and you will find out as he grows and matures.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

I keep two as well.Usaully their human friendly and good to the girls,atleast most of the time.I also like one who breeds a lot,because I never know when I might wanna hatch.On top of hatching,I always want friendly chickens so all roosters must be friendly.

 

[meetthebubus]

Roosters can be awesome, they are not perfect but if you've bonded with him chances are he will be great for you

Bc they aren't perfect though they can get annoying for the hens but my roosters priority is eggs and they let the layers in the front for treat time, help find a good nest, sing to the scared ones in the nest, find treats, warn them of dangers, my girls love their Roo, but sometimes they can seem mean bc their mindset also centers on the need to mate and if a hen won't let them, they go for the surprise which means

Roosters are better than the myths that circle this website
Roosters can be predisposed to be just horrible so you might get a bad seed one, but imo what you describe is a good start to a good roo you'll see when hormones kick in which is at about 4 months old

 

[meetthebubus]

Here's when my roo was helping a layer, he does stuff like this all the time, he also sings the egg song with them like a proud papa