Can someone tell me if this is a rooster?

[Crazy for Chickens!]

2 Roosters.

 

[NikAndHerChicks]

Yes & yes! And I agree with all of the other posters about the importance of ridding the threat to your flock with the possum. We lost 3 hens in 4 weeks, and while we didn't physically see the possum with our lost girls, it is pretty coincidental that my son went out to lock the coop one evening (about 4 days after we lost the 3rd hen) & found a possum on top of the enclosed run trying to get in & help himself to a chicken dinner. My 12 year old son ran back up to the house, grabbed his BB gun & eliminated the threat to his birds (he loves the chickens too!) If my 12 year old son can do it, you can too! Your flock is relying on you to keep them safe.

 

[Karinspinn]

Unfortunately yes that is all the hens I have right now because the hawks really did a number on my flock this year.. I'l be getting more girls come easter.

 

[Karinspinn]

Thank you for your input! I' going to try to find a home for the red one now. I didn' know it was a rooster at all while it was younger and I don't have enough girls for the 2 of them. The red doesn't have any spurs yet but I saw it get to peck at my barred rocks head in their coop so o think it's going to start to take over soon. Weird thing is or doesn't crow. I've never heard it crow! And she. It was younger growing with my other girls it always would sulk and grab as much food as quick as possible and run like hell.. i wonder why my barred never tried to fight with it when it was younger and even to this day.. very strange!

 

[Karinspinn]

Oh boy

You missed an opportunity to remove that oppossum. He will be back, and he will continue to kill until you kill him or completely revamp your predator safety. Possums also prowl around during the day, and will kill any time they have opportunity. They are very good climbers and can get through amazingly small spaces. I urge you to place the safety of your birds over feeding a predator.

Oh boy I should have just killed it.. I'm new at this so I didn't really know that he's probably be back.. I reinforced the pen today.. I never did find where or how it got inside though! I wanted to wait until it got a little warmer so I could do the pen over completely but I'm gonna have to do it very soon. Do you have any advice on how to keep hawks away? They were the number one predator that took most of my girls.

 

[Karinspinn]

He's a rooster. Also, just because you have two roosters, doesn't mean they will kill each other. They may fight, but I doubt they'll actually kill.

I'm just worried because my aunt had 2 roosters, they grew up together and one day the smaller one snapped the reds neck.. they didn't have too many fights either.

 

[lazy gardener]

Put a top over your chicken run.

 

[Karinspinn]

Yes & yes! And I agree with all of the other posters about the importance of ridding the threat to your flock with the possum. We lost 3 hens in 4 weeks, and while we didn't physically see the possum with our lost girls, it is pretty coincidental that my son went out to lock the coop one evening (about 4 days after we lost the 3rd hen) & found a possum on top of the enclosed run trying to get in & help himself to a chicken dinner. My 12 year old son ran back up to the house, grabbed his BB gun & eliminated the threat to his birds (he loves the chickens too!) If my 12 year old son can do it, you can too! Your flock is relying on you to keep them safe.

Wow! You lost them all to opossums? I have trouble with the hawks so I didn't expect this! I hate losing any of my girls.. It's such a blow especially after raising them up. I hope my girl will make it. I can't wait for warmed weather to redo my whole enclosure! But for now I will just focuse on reinforcing all small holes and any problem spots. I want to get more girls but after getting my last batch and getting the red rooster in it I'm kinda afraid to lol..

 

[Karinspinn]

Put a top over your chicken run.

It has a wired top and when it gets warmer is when I was going to make it more efficient. For now I will just have to close up any little gaps I find

 

[Kessel23]

Thank you for your input! I' going to try to find a home for the red one now. I didn' know it was a rooster at all while it was younger and I don't have enough girls for the 2 of them. The red doesn't have any spurs yet but I saw it get to peck at my barred rocks head in their coop so o think it's going to start to take over soon. Weird thing is or doesn't crow. I've never heard it crow! And she. It was younger growing with my other girls it always would sulk and grab as much food as quick as possible and run like hell.. i wonder why my barred never tried to fight with it when it was younger and even to this day.. very strange!

Some young roosters will not crow if there are older, stronger roosters around until they feel like they can compete with the older roosters, in other words the Red wants your rooster to think he is a hen. My roosters did this to, when I got my Black Australorp rooster as he matured he started to crow, I introduced him to the main flock but then he stopped crowing. I was clueless to why he stopped because he was crowing like crazy a few days ago when he was in his own pen. Then I realized that he was also not trying to mate with the hens. As I watched closer I caught my other two roosters attempting to mate with the Black Australorp multiple times, the Black Australorp would never let them successfully mate but after this I realised that the other two top roosters were fooled into thinking the new rooster was a hen, despite the fact he was much bigger than both of them and had a fully grown crown. A few months later as the new roo grew his spurs in he started trying to mate with the hens, he still was crowless but the other roosters caught him mating and beat him up, he was not tricking anyone anymore. The new roo was placed below the other two and only after he was discovered to be a rooster did he start to crow again.