Barred Rock Cochin Bantams? Roo's or Hens?

[mom4morecritters]

I purchased 9 bantams from the local feed store. I haven't identified all of them yet. I'm pretty sure these three are Cochin Barred Rock, but I'm not sure if they are hens or roos. Out of the other 6 bantams, only TWO are hens. Please tell me these are hens! I don't want SEVEN roos!

10 weeks old

 

[chick4chicks]

They sure look like roos to me ... so sorry

 

[LilPeeps]

Quote:
The proper name for them is barred cochin. A barred rock is a completely different breed, with rock being the breed and barred being the color pattern.

All three are cockerels.

 

[mom4morecritters]

Quote:
Thanks, Julie, I appreciate the info. This is my first year with chickens, and as much as I love them, figuring out what breed they all are has been a little (or a lot) confusing!

chick4chicks, thanks for the sympathy!

Okay, next question... what in the world do I do with SEVEN bantam roos and 2 hens? Can that many boys coexist without causing problems with the 2 girls? I have 3 standards, 1 is a roo. They are all getting along just fine together, even though the bantams are 5 weeks younger. I am getting 6 more standards next week to replace the 5 that were killed by a yet-to-be-determined predator.

Can they all continue to live in one coup, or do I need to consider doing a second one?

Thanks for any help, I obviously need a LOT!

 

[ChickPeas]

Lord knows I'm no expert, but from the little experience I've had (my first flock in March), I think I'd start thinking of another coop.

We ended up with 5 roos out of 12 and we have those suckers all over the place. Sheesh...It truly has not been pleasant trying to figure out who can live where and with who, who won't beat up the girls, who won't beat up which roo, etc.,

Right now we've got one roos in his own pen, two that can stay in the back yard together, one with the hens and one that lives on the deck. I wanted to find them homes that wouldn't eat them, but no such luck. Now we're stuck with 5 roos that crow non-stop or want to fight. All of them were raised together and got along famously until the testosterone kicked in.

I wish you luck! Keep an eye on them and see how they do...you may be really lucky and have boys that can co-exist.

And have fun learning on here...there are some pretty smart folks on board that can help you out whenever you have an issue!

Good luck! Let us know how it goes....

 

[tiki244]

they look barred rock X cochin, look at the legs. There may be a female in there, dont know. Coxhins ussually develope quickly. The one in front looks like it mihgt be a female

 

[LilPeeps]

Quote:
What about the legs suggests barred rock? The one in the front, as well as the others have male-colored barring, as well as large red combs and wattles.

 

[mom4morecritters]

Here are a couple photos I just took. I hope they help!

Here is a close up leg pic.

All cockerels? BTW, any ideas on the breed of the little red one? I have 2 of that breed and I'm pretty sure I have one of each.

ChickPeas, I had a feeling I'd need more than one coup. DH is in the process of building the Castle D'Coop. Their temporary coop will have to become the permanent Roo Coop! LOL!

I've been lurking for a couple of months now and LOVE this place! Every time I have a question I search for it and find a ton of info! This is the first time I've "had" to post a question.

 

[purplepoen]

It is very possible for there to be more roos per pullet than what people recomend. It all depends on the personality of the roos. What you do is watch them and pick the mean and aggressive roosters to go and you keep getting rid of the meanies until there is peace in your flock. This method worked for me. I love all my chickens and didn't want to eat/give away anybody I didn't have to. I only got rid of the bad roos and now I have a ratio of 3 hens per roo and it works just fine. So you may be able to keep many of your roos if you're attatched to them. But if you dont want to be feeding non layers start looking for a new home for them!

 

[mom4morecritters]

PurplePoen, I'm already making plans to have a few different cockerel houses! The "temporary coop" is one of two bunny hutches DH built a few years ago. I guess it will go from temporary to the bachelor pad when I have to start separating the delinquents!

DH said if they are mean we can eat them. I pointed out that there isn't much meat on them so he said all 7 bantam cockerels would make a nice snack of chicken wings for him! They are my "babies", no one is eating them!

"So you may be able to keep many of your roos if you're attached to them. But if you don't want to be feeding non layers start looking for a new home for them!"

That's good to know! I don't think feeding non layers will be a problem for us (me). We have ducks and geese and whenever someone asks us what we do with them, DH says we FEED them!

~Anne