Eggs slowing down is normal?

[cstronks]

That is all up to you. Plenty of people butcher and eat their own roosters. The process can be messy/difficult, but you learn from experience. I've never culled, but never had the need to do so either. If you do not want to deal with the rooster, you can butcher it yourself or find a farm that will take it in. Unfortunately it is very difficult to find a home for roosters. Many chicken owners have no practical use for them, so if your search comes up empty, I would look into butchering or finding a farm to take the bird. Be patient though, until you are sure the bird is a rooster. A couple of week could be the difference. Continue posting pictures as the bird matures. Many users have a great eye for spotting roosters and hens. I would use this resource to the fullest. Who knows what will happen!?

 

[RoosterDon]

I posted on Craigslist with my first rooster and my phone rang off the hook. I am quite sure that the guy who took him had him for dinner. I felt a little bad about that. I Craigslisted my second one and lucked out with a young guy who lived at home with his parents in the country and just loves roosters. After hatching many more eggs and giving him more roosters I was skeptical and delivered the next three to his home and was amazed at how many hens and roosters he really had. And they were all very happy birds.

I think that most people who will want your rooster will be ones that want to eat him, but that is not such a bad thing. I did kill and defeater one, and my wife who is a great cook slow cooked the rooster, but roosters have less meat, tougher meat, and it just was not worth the work. If I ever do it again, I will simply skin the rooster and cut out the meat, never doing one whole again.

That being said, I also have not and don't think I will ever eat one of our hens. I just can't do it. I have nothing against those who do at all, it's just not for me. They laid all these eggs for us and I just can't see eating them when they are done producing. It is easier to buy one at the grocery store that is ready to cook, and a fryer at the grocery store is cheaper then the work to do my own.

Which kind of leads me to say to that I SOOO agree with those who say that you don't raise chickens to make money off of them. LOL!!! That is for sure. It is just so much fun raising them and tending to them and protecting them. I can't imagine now what one of my eggs actually costs me at this point. So, I am not doing this to make any money. But lots of people do. I just don't see how they make the numbers work.

 

[Jenneh85]

That is all up to you. Plenty of people butcher and eat their own roosters. The process can be messy/difficult, but you learn from experience. I've never culled, but never had the need to do so either. If you do not want to deal with the rooster, you can butcher it yourself or find a farm that will take it in. Unfortunately it is very difficult to find a home for roosters. Many chicken owners have no practical use for them, so if your search comes up empty, I would look into butchering or finding a farm to take the bird. Be patient though, until you are sure the bird is a rooster. A couple of week could be the difference. Continue posting pictures as the bird matures. Many users have a great eye for spotting roosters and hens. I would use this resource to the fullest. Who knows what will happen!?

Thanks, I will post pictures of the ones I think are roosters, I know 2 are for sure. The one in question comb is bigger then the pullets but its not turning pink and it doesnt have 3 ridges.

The smaller one Id have to wait about another month to truly tell if it is a cockerel or not, but I have a good feeling it is.

so out of 7 chickens (one died) 2 are male, and one is 100% pullet, the other two smaller ones still need more time but this ratio really sucks. I wanted 4 new hens to add to my flock, now Im just hoping for 2.

 

[Jenneh85]

I posted on Craigslist with my first rooster and my phone rang off the hook. I am quite sure that the guy who took him had him for dinner. I felt a little bad about that. I Craigslisted my second one and lucked out with a young guy who lived at home with his parents in the country and just loves roosters. After hatching many more eggs and giving him more roosters I was skeptical and delivered the next three to his home and was amazed at how many hens and roosters he really had. And they were all very happy birds.

I think that most people who will want your rooster will be ones that want to eat him, but that is not such a bad thing. I did kill and defeater one, and my wife who is a great cook slow cooked the rooster, but roosters have less meat, tougher meat, and it just was not worth the work. If I ever do it again, I will simply skin the rooster and cut out the meat, never doing one whole again.

That being said, I also have not and don't think I will ever eat one of our hens. I just can't do it. I have nothing against those who do at all, it's just not for me. They laid all these eggs for us and I just can't see eating them when they are done producing. It is easier to buy one at the grocery store that is ready to cook, and a fryer at the grocery store is cheaper then the work to do my own.

Which kind of leads me to say to that I SOOO agree with those who say that you don't raise chickens to make money off of them. LOL!!! That is for sure. It is just so much fun raising them and tending to them and protecting them. I can't imagine now what one of my eggs actually costs me at this point. So, I am not doing this to make any money. But lots of people do. I just don't see how they make the numbers work.

All I know is, I kinda agree with you about the whole eating my hens part. I have a 200$ hen in the enclosure that got sick and I took her to the vet and said she was a pet chicken, they couldnt find out what was wrong with her so I started force feeding her and spoiled her with goat cheese and lobster patte, now she is the fattest of my buff orpingtons and she was the one who started laying first.

I bought all duel purpose chickens for that main reason, to eventually eat them. I see myself crying with every bite but I think ill get over it.
I just need to find a place that gives a better guarantee on the sexing of their chicks, because having so many roosters come out of their stock when they told me they are ALL females, is BOGUS.

 

[RoosterDon]

I have not been able to tell a rooster from a hen till they start crowing or start getting humped by a rooster. Some people say they can tell, but not me. So I usually wait till I hear new crowing then go out there and wait to see who the culprit is.

Are you hatching any of your own Jenneh? Or do you only bring in already hatched chicks?

 

[Jenneh85]

I buy already hatched chicks, Sadly the guarantee isnt always 100% like they SAY, so if i want more chickens, I think I would breed my hens.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

SO is it better to have a rooster?

Or is it better not to.

I dont want to breed chickens, I dont want to make broody hens and I sure in the blazes dont want a crower as my neighbor down the road has over 6 roosters free-ranging and crow willy nilly.

How can I tell if this one "bird" is a rooster. its a EE and the comb doesnt look like the definite pullet.

Having roosters with the flock doesn'[t make hens go broody. If the hormones kick in causing the hen to want to raise a family, she'll do so, whether there is a rooster present, whether or not her eggs are fertile, or even whether or not there are any eggs in the nest at all.

It is more difficult to tell if one is a rooster if that is the only bird of that breed so you have no point of comparison. Comb notwithstanding, cockerels will develop pointier hackle, wing and tail feathers and eventually the tail will curve more than a pullet with straighter tail feathers and rounded (hen feathers) all over the body.
If you have more than one of a breed, the cocks comb will be larger and have longer thicker legs.

cstronks & RoosterDon Thank you so much for both your input.

I personally thought that having a rooster would do something better for my hens, but since they are in a inclosed enclosure it wouldnt be best for them, and I am not trying to breed chickens yet either.

I think the only real question is what do I do with the ones I think that are roosters?

I advertised one on CL and I havent gotten ANYTHING.

I feel as though I am stuck with them.

Should I just separate them from the hens and fatten them up for dinners???

cstronks and R Don gave good info.
If you give the roosters away on CL, they'll disappear and soon become someone's dinner. If you have breeds that are desirable, and you sell them for more than $10, they will likely be used for breeding.
If you have fed and cared for them and given them a good life, you deserve to eat it rather than give it to someone who won't have the same respect for it and doesn't have to do anything but drive to your house.
As was said, roosters tend to keep peace in a flock, will give themselves up to predators to save the flock, they find food for the hens when foraging and stand guard while the hens eat. They often have prettier feather coloring than the hens so there is the eye candy thing.
And if you want more chickens, you can't do that without a male.

I buy already hatched chicks, Sadly the guarantee isnt always 100% like they SAY, so if i want more chickens, I think I would breed my hens.

Most places that sell sexed chicks have better ratios. It is never 100% guaranteed but mostly about 90+.
It takes a very long time (years) to become proficient at vent sexing. Those are the highest paid people at a hatchery.

 

[Jenneh85]

Wow,

Thanks for all that information. I am still learning an I am so thankful that people on BYC are so willing to give information to help.

All I know is the eye candy thing is correct Mr.Peep is going to be one good looking Rooster, I dont know what Little Ninja will look like his head still has that fluffy down feathers, Brownie is still all fluff and down but I still think its going to turn out to be a rooster, This one bird has a weird looking comb, It looks bulbous but doesnt have ridges and pea bumps, but its a different color then the pullet, the tail stands straight and the feathers are round, The other 3 look like they have curved tails Mr.Peep has green curved feathers already coming in and his comb is BIG and red.

All I know is I am tempted to just free range the roosters and let my hens stay in the cage, if the cockerel will stay around thats a different story, because one of my neighbors is a animal hoarder, sadly.

 

[lulubell15]

Very interesting opinions on the subject of roosters. I finally have the solution to my 2. A Chinese family we know have invited them both to help them celebrate Chinese new year on the 8th Feb. They have insured us that the birds will be teated with respect, & the fact that they will still be alive when they leave us is a little easier for me to cope with, along with knowing they had a happy 8 months with my girls.