first time chicken owner

[shelbymac65]

hey,
i just got 6 baby chicks at the state fair on an impulse. But now 4 of them have those little things on their heads. they are about 3 weeks old, and its been 3 days since we first noticed them and they are startng to turn reddish. So i really just want to know if i have 4 roosters and only 2 hens, because i don't think that i can just keep 2 hens.

Also, we were planning on making our old playhouse in to the chicken coop, but it desnt have electricity or heat and we live in NJ. So for the winter do i need to get electricity or heat installed?
thanks.

 

[OHChick]

Hi there... my chickens have 'red things' on their heads, and they are hens. We have one roo, but his comb didn't become extremely pronounced until much later.

I'd wait and see. At about 10 weeks I was able to see who was the roo and that the rest were hens. But they all have red combs, just not as big as the rooster.

Good luck.

 

[justusnak]

Hi Shelbymac...welcome. Is there a way to post pics?? Do you know the breed of your chicks?

 

[shelbymac65]

here are pictures of my chickeys.

chick with red thing

chick without

chick without

chick with

chick with

 

[shelbymac65]

im sorry the captions are messed up.

but you can probly tell which are which.

 

[rosyposyosy]

i'd say... ROOSTERS.

 

[sunnychooks]

Hi!
Do you know what breed of chicken they are? I also live in NJ and if the breed is cold weather hardy you should not have too much of a problem. If their combs are large you may want to put some vaseline on them to prevent frostbite. We have an unheated coop, but ours is insulated. The most important thing about the cold weather is that you must make sure the water is not frozen. BTW, why can you not keep just two hens?

 

[LynnGrigg]

They look like little partridge rock chicks to me. The ones with the combs and waddles look like roos.

 

[shelbymac65]

hey thanks everyone.
im bummed that those 4 are roosters. is it possible to just have 2 chickens? ive read that you have to have atleast 4 since they are flock animals.
also, dont chickens have those comb things anyways? so can any of the 4 with the things be hens?

 

[greenmulberry]

You can have two chickens! They just need one other friend. Just don't keep only one.

Yes, hens do have combs too, but smaller than roosters. Why don't you let the chicks get older before you decide who to get rid of so you can be more certain about the roosters.