Do I have roosters?

[Tammy719]

Hi! We we pretty new to raising chickens. We got 6 red rangers from our local tractor supply this year. They are now approximat 9-10 weeks old and we just noticed that 2 have what looks like Spurs and waddles out of the 6. Is it to early to say they are roosters? If so how long before we tell?

 

[Nupe]

Probably. Red rangers are a meat bird so I doubt they would be sold sexed. I would expect around half to be male.

 

[Tammy719]

Really? We were told they were great egg layers. We don't plan to eat then just want the eggs. That's why we don't want roosters.

 

[Nupe]

That's TSC for you. You should have gotten Production Reds or Red Sex Links. I'm not sure exactly what TSC offers. The Red Rangers will lay eggs but they grow big and fast, with the appetite to match, and probably won't live very long. They're bred a little differently than the Cornish X so they will grow just a little slower and be more inclined to forage. If I were you, I'd complain to TSC to trade them out. You can probably buy back the ranger hens for cheap and keep them as long as they live.

 

[Tammy719]

I can't really complain about them being roosters because the sign on the pen said u sexed. I just got unlucky and got. 2 roosters. When I looked them up they said good layers. I guess we will see how it works out. You are right though they seem to eat a lot more then the black austrolopes I have.