Do I have 1 roo or 2? (Either way, joke's on me!)

[Noobchick]

I posted here about 2 months ago about an Ameracauna named Claire who turned out to be a Clarence. (Surprise crowing = not a happy thing for me.) So I returned him to the breeder, where I was a victim of Chicken Math and ended up falling in love with three new chickens. Since then, chicken keeping has been a lesson in Murphy's Law. I quarantined them, then gradually introduced them, then ended up STILL having to treat a near-impossible to diagnose disease for three weeks.

They're all well now and I thought I was out of the woods-- until a few days ago when I caught the biggest Naked Neck mounting one of my girls. What I'm afraid of now though is that the new Ameracauna I got is ALSO a roo. No crowing yet from either of them (maybe they heard about what happened to the last roo I had??) but I think some saddle feathers are coming in pointy.

What do you guys think??

I'm positive that the Naked Neck on the top perch is a girl. The other Naked Neck is a roo, no doubt. Mounting or trying to mount all my girls. I'm not 100% sure about the Ameraucana though.
http://db.tt/QgIpdWek

http://db.tt/O8yZ34KF

http://db.tt/feaE8Oc5

He/she always looks so scruffy. Is he/she molting???
http://db.tt/bUyOlosh

 

[aoxa]

The first one looks like a roo, but so does that second one.. I'm sorry you got two when you took back one! That sucks!

They are pretty though

 

[Noobchick]

Argh!! That's what I was afraid of!! I'm definitely NOT going back to the chicken dealer I used. They were 9 weeks old by the time I got them; surely an experienced professional would've been able to tell the difference???

Now the dilemna about which one to keep…

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
I'd keep the first one, or whatever one is friendliest.

You would think they were able to tell, right? How long have they been doing this? Every breeder I was able to go through (minus the first one), was able to sex them correctly. A few of them were under 9 weeks and sold as female. All were as they said to be.

Post an ad on here for free rooster to good home in your area. Maybe you will find someone to take in your spare roo.

 

[Noobchick]

Not sure how long they've been in the poultry hobby but their business was established in 2008. Had no idea it was that short time ago, just looked it up on their website. Lesson learned!! Buy chicks only from a LONG ESTABLISHED business.

The Naked Neck one is definitely friendlier and also seems to be dominant over the other, which I take to mean that he has better genetics?? If I do eventually decide to breed, I'd like strong genes. Not sure how I feel about a flock of Naked Necks tho.

I'm so irritated at those chicken breeders.

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
I didn't even realize the first was naked neck

looked like a SLW roo to me! Guess the angle was hard to tell he had a naked neck!

I don't know if genetics are really a reason for him to be more dominant over the other. Could be all about breed, personality, etc. I say you want the friendlier one, because you definitely don't want to be flogged by an aggressive roo! Ouch!

ETA: I would be very angry too!

I purchased a POL hen from someone who swore they were RIR, but I already read enough on here to know she was lying. Was most definitely a production red. I got her anyway. I did drive an hour and a half for them!

And she also tried to tell me a BR with a single comb was a dominique! I've only been doing this since August and know more!

All that reading on BYC

 

[Noobchick]

From the angle he's at, it's not clear that he's a Naked Neck. Just spent time cleaning up after/visiting with/monitoring them and I've decided on definitely keeping the Naked Neck. I think the other one is too timid for my girls. I also don't think he's happy with his situation at all- the term "hen pecked" comes to mind.

i've heard that can happen with roos that are younger than hens (the fact that he's a late addition probably doesn't help matters.)

Here's a picture from the back of the Naked Neck roo. (Named "Curly" for now, as all three were named after the Three Stooges- we may have to think about new names if we get rid of Larry-who-turned-out-to-be-male.)

http://db.tt/IS1b4Sbs

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
My young cockerel is like that too. I'm sure they will like him once he matures. I have two roos and 10 hens

This is my cockerel - Jagger - not really sure how old he is, but his sister is still not laying, so I'd say between 4 - 5 months old

This is my Silkie rooster - Steve. He's over a year old, and the sweetest rooster we could ever hope for! He's so friendly/protective/gentle with our hens and us. Right now he's head roo, but Jagger will be much bigger eventually. Good thing Steve doesn't pester the women for favours

He only tries to mate with our silkie hen! Weird!

I've also heard that hens really don't like when a younger rooster is introduced. They might get used to him though. Mine have the cockerel whipped as well

He's constantly running away so the hens don't steal his food. Not very giving! My other rooster is always the last to eat! He's always feeding the girls!

 

[Noobchick]

Jagger: awesome name and what a handsome boy!!

I briefly considered keeping both but I only have 6 girls; figured that might be too much for them. Still not sure how I feel about raising Naked Neck chicks later when we move to bigger land but I've fallen in love with the Naked Neck pullet. (We call her Moe now but I think she will be renamed after we rehome the Ameraucana cockerel.). She's so sweet and timid that if she were the only Naked Neck in the flock, I'd be worried she'd get mercilessly bullied.

*shrug* Our summers ARE brutal here. Maybe it's meant to be for me to have more Naked Necks. Lol.

Does having two roos cause any troubles for you and the girls yet??