Did I accidentally get all male Barred Rocks?

[Raubkatze]

Based on those photos, I think the same as you: probably two females and one male.

Yes, waiting is hard But there's a good chance a male will show a pretty obvious red comb within the next month or so, and females keep their small pale combs for longer, so that will be a good confirmation of what we think we're seeing here (or a sign that we got it wrong, but hopefully not!)

I would be pretty happy if that ends up being the split. The idea of eating fertilized eggs gives me the heebiejeebies that I will have to get over, but I hope that having a rooster around will keep my ladies happier and safer.

 

[NatJ]

I would be pretty happy if that ends up being the split. The idea of eating fertilized eggs gives me the heebiejeebies that I will have to get over, but I hope that having a rooster around will keep my ladies happier and safer.

If you collect the eggs every day and store them in the fridge, or even at typical house temperatures, you will never know they were fertilized. They will look and taste just like any other egg.

Roosters do not keep hens very much safer. A rooster is still a chicken, and a predator that wants to eat eat chicken is not fussy about which chicken it eats. Of course, if the rooster gets eaten first, that does mean the hens were spared on that particular day. And yes, he might sound an alarm that will let the hens run to safety, but some hens do that too, so it's not something only a rooster can do. A predator-proof pen is much more effective protection than any rooster ever could be.

Whether a rooster keeps the hens happier would depend on the rooster. Some roosters make hens miserable by too-frequent mating and chasing them around trying to mate when the hens don't want to. Some other roosters look out for the hens, stop bullying by hens and don't act like bullies themself, and generally do make life better for the hens.

Some roosters try to "protect" their hens from people. This does not make life better for anyone (the rooster, the hens, or the people.) Some roosters recognize that people are not predators, so they spend their time looking for actual predators instead of wasting time defending against non-threats (like people.)

Whether your particular male will grow into a good or a bad rooster is something that you will have to see as he grows. If he turns out to cause problems, I recommend turning him into chicken soup: I think it's the tastiest solution to rooster problems. If you are always eyeing him as potential dinner, it's easier if you do need to make that decision

I'm not trying to talk you out of having a rooster, just trying to mention several sides of the matter in case you got a one-sided view from some other source. Personally, I like to have roosters in a flock, but I'm picky about which roosters. There are enough good ones I see no reason to put up with ones that cause problems.

 

[Iluveggers]

If you collect the eggs every day and store them in the fridge, or even at typical house temperatures, you will never know they were fertilized. They will look and taste just like any other egg.

Roosters do not keep hens very much safer. A rooster is still a chicken, and a predator that wants to eat eat chicken is not fussy about which chicken it eats. Of course, if the rooster gets eaten first, that does mean the hens were spared on that particular day. And yes, he might sound an alarm that will let the hens run to safety, but some hens do that too, so it's not something only a rooster can do. A predator-proof pen is much more effective protection than any rooster ever could be.

Whether a rooster keeps the hens happier would depend on the rooster. Some roosters make hens miserable by too-frequent mating and chasing them around trying to mate when the hens don't want to. Some other roosters look out for the hens, stop bullying by hens and don't act like bullies themself, and generally do make life better for the hens.

Some roosters try to "protect" their hens from people. This does not make life better for anyone (the rooster, the hens, or the people.) Some roosters recognize that people are not predators, so they spend their time looking for actual predators instead of wasting time defending against non-threats (like people.)

Whether your particular male will grow into a good or a bad rooster is something that you will have to see as he grows. If he turns out to cause problems, I recommend turning him into chicken soup: I think it's the tastiest solution to rooster problems. If you are always eyeing him as potential dinner, it's easier if you do need to make that decision

I'm not trying to talk you out of having a rooster, just trying to mention several sides of the matter in case you got a one-sided view from some other source. Personally, I like to have roosters in a flock, but I'm picky about which roosters. There are enough good ones I see no reason to put up with ones that cause problems.

That is our opinion on the farm, also! If you behave, you get to stay. If you don’t, my uncle really enjoys Coq au Vin

 

[Raubkatze]

If you collect the eggs every day and store them in the fridge, or even at typical house temperatures, you will never know they were fertilized. They will look and taste just like any other egg.

Roosters do not keep hens very much safer. A rooster is still a chicken, and a predator that wants to eat eat chicken is not fussy about which chicken it eats. Of course, if the rooster gets eaten first, that does mean the hens were spared on that particular day. And yes, he might sound an alarm that will let the hens run to safety, but some hens do that too, so it's not something only a rooster can do. A predator-proof pen is much more effective protection than any rooster ever could be.

Whether a rooster keeps the hens happier would depend on the rooster. Some roosters make hens miserable by too-frequent mating and chasing them around trying to mate when the hens don't want to. Some other roosters look out for the hens, stop bullying by hens and don't act like bullies themself, and generally do make life better for the hens.

Some roosters try to "protect" their hens from people. This does not make life better for anyone (the rooster, the hens, or the people.) Some roosters recognize that people are not predators, so they spend their time looking for actual predators instead of wasting time defending against non-threats (like people.)

Whether your particular male will grow into a good or a bad rooster is something that you will have to see as he grows. If he turns out to cause problems, I recommend turning him into chicken soup: I think it's the tastiest solution to rooster problems. If you are always eyeing him as potential dinner, it's easier if you do need to make that decision

I'm not trying to talk you out of having a rooster, just trying to mention several sides of the matter in case you got a one-sided view from some other source. Personally, I like to have roosters in a flock, but I'm picky about which roosters. There are enough good ones I see no reason to put up with ones that cause problems.

And here in lies my problem, I don't think I could eat anything I have raised from a baby. This is why my husband won't let me get cows. I want them for pets, he wants them for food.

I do worry that if I end up with more than one roo I will have an imbalance that could cause issues, and I have no idea how I will find it a home. I am sure there is a saturated market of roos this time of year especially.

 

[NatJ]

And here in lies my problem, I don't think I could eat anything I have raised from a baby. This is why my husband won't let me get cows. I want them for pets, he wants them for food.

I do worry that if I end up with more than one roo I will have an imbalance that could cause issues, and I have no idea how I will find it a home. I am sure there is a saturated market of roos this time of year especially.

Some people are able to sell or give away roosters to other people that want to eat them. That works if you don't mind someone else eating him, even though you won't do it yourself.

If you want a rooster to never get eaten, it is much harder to find a suitable new home for him.

Some people do keep bachelor flocks, which is a group of just roosters who live together. Having them separate from the hens means they are not over-mating the hens, and with no hens they also have less reason to fight. Depending on the roosters involved, sometimes it works well, other times they injure or bully each other anyway. So if you end up with roosters that you won't eat and can't find a suitable home for, you could keep that idea in mind. I know there are some threads on the forum about bachelor flocks of roosters.

 

[Iluveggers]

And here in lies my problem, I don't think I could eat anything I have raised from a baby. This is why my husband won't let me get cows. I want them for pets, he wants them for food.

I do worry that if I end up with more than one roo I will have an imbalance that could cause issues, and I have no idea how I will find it a home. I am sure there is a saturated market of roos this time of year especially.

I thought the same thing until a rooster I hatched attacked my little cousin who was minding his business not even near the guy. (luckily an adult saw and intervened). He had gone after my uncle a few times before that, but for safety we had to dispatch him. I would never want to for no reason, but with so many kids running around the property, we can’t have anything that could severely injury anyone. Some roosters are BRUTAL, and that can be dangerous. He was fine, until one day he wasn’t. And then he just got worse.

 

[Raubkatze]

Officially 3 weeks old today. I'm now thinking two boys and a girl based on size and how their tail feathers are coming in.

 

[Raubkatze]

This one I'm thinking girl.

 

[Raubkatze]

Sorry for blurry pictures, turns out chicks don't like sitting still for very long.

 

[NatJ]

Officially 3 weeks old today. I'm now thinking two boys and a girl based on size and how their tail feathers are coming in.

I guess we'll have to keep watching and see