Cokerels or Pullets - Oh My! How to tell?

[rc4u]

starting at over two weeks of age the roos will have short tail and wing feathers and the hens will have much longer tail and wing feathers...even now you should be able to tell with what looks like no tail feathers for roos and long ones for hens...

 

[iwiw60]

You know, I got to thinking back today. Back when the chicks were little, maybe 4 weeks. And I seem to remember that there were 2 BO's that were slow to get their feathers. Every other chick, including the Buckeyes and Dominiques, were getting their feathers but these two BO's. I was saying to my husband that maybe we were going to get lucky and only have 2 roosters in the lot. I guess that I was wrong. I did, however, read a post on the My Pet Chicken forum, that said that the person was sure that they had a rooster. It had the bright red wattle/comb but it ended up laying an egg. I'm sorry....guess that I'm just grasping at straws. It's just that one of those red-combed chickens is my favorite and I don't really want to part with it.

Why would you have to part with it, especially since it's one of your favs???

 

[critterkeeper25]

We aren't sure that we want to deal with all that comes with owning a rooster. You know, the crowing at dawn for one thing. (Annoyed neighbors who already hate us because our "bad" dog always seemed to slip away from our, yard only to be found in their back yard, barking at them through their sliding door!) Plus possible abuse of hens (favorites). I like the idea that a rooster will protect its hens. We have wandering neighborhood cats and various predators that you see in the country. I guess that we will have to make a choice. How soon are you supposed to weed out the roosters? There already seems to be fighting going on between the chickens with the more developed combs/wattles which I believe to be roosters. I wouldn't want them to become injured if we wait too long to separate them.

 

[chirpy chicks]

You know, I got to thinking back today. Back when the chicks were little, maybe 4 weeks. And I seem to remember that there were 2 BO's that were slow to get their feathers. Every other chick, including the Buckeyes and Dominiques, were getting their feathers but these two BO's. I was saying to my husband that maybe we were going to get lucky and only have 2 roosters in the lot. I guess that I was wrong. I did, however, read a post on the My Pet Chicken forum, that said that the person was sure that they had a rooster. It had the bright red wattle/comb but it ended up laying an egg. I'm sorry....guess that I'm just grasping at straws. It's just that one of those red-combed chickens is my favorite and I don't really want to part with it

You could try and keep it ? I've never had a cock though .(i want one

) why not keep one just curious ?

Hope you CAN keep him (if it is a him ! )

 

[iwiw60]

We aren't sure that we want to deal with all that comes with owning a rooster. You know, the crowing at dawn for one thing. (Annoyed neighbors who already hate us because our "bad" dog always seemed to slip away from our, yard only to be found in their back yard, barking at them through their sliding door!) Plus possible abuse of hens (favorites). I like the idea that a rooster will protect its hens. We have wandering neighborhood cats and various predators that you see in the country. I guess that we will have to make a choice. How soon are you supposed to weed out the roosters? There already seems to be fighting going on between the chickens with the more developed combs/wattles which I believe to be roosters. I wouldn't want them to become injured if we wait too long to separate them.

If you have fighting going on with your roos you need to at least cull/give away the ones you don't wish to keep. The problem with fighting will only continue up to and most probably including getting very bloody. With 11 hens I'm assuming you think there are 2 extra roos, not including your fav roo. That is WAY too many roos for that size flock. If you continue to keep all the roos your hens will be the ones to suffer from over-mating, feathers missing, etc.

You said you have an 'annoyed neighbor' because of your dog. This is something you should address at your earliest convenience, making sure that your dog stays in your yard. There's nothing worse than an 'annoyed neighbor' having to deal with your dog on the loose, roosters crowing about, etc.....they just might get 'annoyed' enough to report the problem....yikes! That's something you don't want to have happen.

Best of luck in whatever decision(s) you make...keep us updated!

 

[critterkeeper25]

We don't have to worry about the dog bothering the neighbors any more. He expired several years ago. He was quite old. We believe that we might have 6 BO roos. We are planning on getting rid of all of them. We do not want/need any roos for our farm as we got the chickens with the hopes that they would keep the tick/stinkbug/japanese beetle population down. The eggs are going to be a nice bonus. We aren't planning on raising any more chicks.

 

[critterkeeper25]

Well...the pullets and cockerels are about 12 weeks old now and we are getting ready to cull out the roos and find homes for them. I have some new pictures and I am hoping that you might be able to confirm their sex.

 

[critterkeeper25]

More pics:

 

[critterkeeper25]

More Pics:

 

[Arcadia Chicken]

All the pics you posted today look like roosters. Sorry to say.