Did you Know - Color of chicken legs?

[crzy chkn ldy]

Thank you so much for the info. I must have crazy chickens. LOL. One more question if you don't mind, you say you see distinct saddle feathers. Can you tell me what I am looking for?
I guess I will have to move on to a different area to find out why my roo's like to cackle like a laying hen. BTW, i took your advice and looked up the website and they do look like red and
I have posted on the other forum as you suggested and waiting for a reply there. Thank you again for your help.

 

[mandelyn]

If those boys were girls, they'd look like this...



You can see in the illustration the differences between the genders in this breed...


The saddle feathers are at the base of the tail on the male, long and pointy, typically shiny too. Note the two long tail feathers, and the feathers draped around the neck that are also long and pointy. If someone told you they were female, it was either a wild guess or a lie, since bantams are not easily vent sexed due to their size. Most of the colors Old English bantams come in differ between the male and female, but it isn't apparent until they start getting mature feathering.

Usually those boys are pretty cute though, they're one of my favorite breeds.

 

[crzy chkn ldy]

Thank you for that education, i appreciate it! Now I will know what to look for in chickens. I thought both sexes had the long pointy
feathers around the neck in the bantam breed but guess I was mistaken. I think they are beautiful and fun to watch but my dilemma
is that makes me have four roosters! My hubby is having a fit, granted they all get along right now but I have 13 hens still locked up
they can't get to yet and we fear they will fight to the death once they are released. Again i appreciate your help in educating me.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Thank you for that education, i appreciate it! Now I will know what to look for in chickens. I thought both sexes had the long pointy
feathers around the neck in the bantam breed but guess I was mistaken. I think they are beautiful and fun to watch but my dilemma
is that makes me have four roosters! My hubby is having a fit, granted they all get along right now but I have 13 hens still locked up
they can't get to yet and we fear they will fight to the death once they are released. Again i appreciate your help in educating me.

I don't know about OEGBs but with other breeds (except the breeds that are extremely hostile to other roosters) I have *read* that if you just keep all the boys in a rooster pen, they have no girls to fight over and get along OK. I haven't tried this myself.

It is called a rooster pen or bachelor pad for roosters.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

We have a bunch of cockerels we're raising for meat in a bachelor pad. 18 boys, some of which are 12 weeks old at this point. All are crowing. They do some sparring, but don't draw blood. No blood, no foul.

I don't know about OEGB's, though--has that breed ever been used for fighting? If so, they might not get along.

 

[crzy chkn ldy]

We only have the two bantam mix roosters, the one I call Big Bird is an orpington mix and seems pretty docile, in fact he is best buds with one of the bantams. They always hang together. I also have an older rooster, i think he is two or three years old now and his name is Mr. Rooster and he is the dominant one. He will keep the others in line that is for sure when they try to get near his lady. But the others run away from him they don't try to fight. So we may be alright. The bachelor pad is a very interesting idea!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

We only have the two bantam mix roosters, the one I call Big Bird is an orpington mix and seems pretty docile, in fact he is best buds with one of the bantams. They always hang together. I also have an older rooster, i think he is two or three years old now and his name is Mr. Rooster and he is the dominant one. He will keep the others in line that is for sure when they try to get near his lady. But the others run away from him they don't try to fight. So we may be alright. The bachelor pad is a very interesting idea!

Roosters that haven't been bred to fight rarely fight to the death, even when there are hens around. The key is giving them LOTS of room and things to hide behind. Then, when there is a fight, the loser will run away and the winner will chase him just to drive home the point. The winner may continue to chase the loser for a couple of days after that, but as long as the loser keeps his head down, the winner will forget about him. It's actually really funny to see a lower pecking order rooster when the alpha is preoccupied somewhere else--he'll be breeding chickens so fast he's almost like a blur, jumping from hen to hen!

The biggest problem you'd have with four roosters to 13 hens is over-mating. Those poor hens will get no peace, and might get stressed and slow down their laying.

 

[crzy chkn ldy]

They should have plenty of room and places to hide, we live on fourteen acres. And i would say that they are roaming at least half that, so that should help. I do enjoy watching the three roosters being chased and yelled at by our alpha male rooster. They really are funny to watch. Besides the 13 caged hens I do have a white leghorn that runs with Mr. Rooster and then there are 4 chickens caged also that we are not sure but they are supposed to be hens. All in all that would give me 18 hens between four roosters which is probably still not enough, huh? I was told by someone that does raise chickens that you should have approx 20 hens per rooster. If that is true, what are the other three roosters going to do? LOL. Do you know what the ratio really is between roo/hen? Thanks for your advice, I sure wouldn't want my ladies stressed or injured.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

They should have plenty of room and places to hide, we live on fourteen acres. And i would say that they are roaming at least half that, so that should help. I do enjoy watching the three roosters being chased and yelled at by our alpha male rooster. They really are funny to watch. Besides the 13 caged hens I do have a white leghorn that runs with Mr. Rooster and then there are 4 chickens caged also that we are not sure but they are supposed to be hens. All in all that would give me 18 hens between four roosters which is probably still not enough, huh? I was told by someone that does raise chickens that you should have approx 20 hens per rooster. If that is true, what are the other three roosters going to do? LOL. Do you know what the ratio really is between roo/hen? Thanks for your advice, I sure wouldn't want my ladies stressed or injured.

The ratio is 10-12 hens per rooster. You will have lots of fights with so many roosters per hen. You could probably try having two roosters in with your flock. For the other two, you should either cull them (which does not have to be kill, you can also give away) or give them a bachelor pad with just the boys and not let them be in the main flock.

 

[crzy chkn ldy]

The ratio is 10-12 hens per rooster. You will have lots of fights with so many roosters per hen. You could probably try having two roosters in with your flock. For the other two, you should either cull them (which does not have to be kill, you can also give away) or give them a bachelor pad with just the boys and not let them be in the main flock.

Thanks for the ratio info. I agree that I need to get rid of all roosters but possibly two. I know Mr. Rooster is a given, and the other three arrived at the same time so no seniority there so will have to make a decision on who goes and who stays. i am sure that my father in law would take one but that might make enemies of my mother in law. LOL. She says she gets tired of feeding the foxes around their home. I don't want to stress out my ladies and cause fights amongst the roosters either.