Gender guesses

[Chuckkeeper]

His pathetic mini crows will become manly, mini, squeaky crows.

Then I might be able to keep him.....

 

[Chuckkeeper]

Seeing that he is a bantam he probably won’t be very loud. Just a couple pathetic mini crows! Hopefully that’s fine with you!

Then hopefully I can keep him...

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

Well that certainly sounds much less concerning. I wasn't expecting a cockerel - so let me know if you've got other advice about keeping one with four hens!

@Beekissed has a great article on keeping roosters.

Most say cuddle them, that holding them will make the boys friendly. I have not found that to work. Your rooster needs to know that you are Alpha and you have ZERO tolerance for funny business. If he tidbits you, wing dances for you, or pecks you, he is challenging your authority. Peck him back. Don't hurt him, but hard enough for him to realize that you mean business. Chase him around if he challenges you. He needs to respect YOUR space.

 

[ILoveBabySilkies]

As @SBFChickenGirl said make sure he respects your authority. Besides that it won’t be much different from keeping a hen, care for them the same way but make sure you have other food besides layer feed once they get older(unless you are planning on feeding them all grower feed or all flock). The reason for not feeding layer feed for the cockerel is because the extra calcium is not good for him since he doesn’t lay eggs. In terms of breeding the hens that can vary between bantam roos but most of the time your fertility rate is not going to be very high. Since he is so short he will have trouble reaching the hens cloaca. So if you aren’t planning on really getting chicks you should be fine. That’s all I have for you and if you like you could always do more research online! Also if you have any questions feel free to ask!

 

[Chuckkeeper]

@Beekissed has a great article on keeping roosters.

Most say cuddle them, that holding them will make the boys friendly. I have not found that to work. Your rooster needs to know that you are Alpha and you have ZERO tolerance for funny business. If he tidbits you, wing dances for you, or pecks you, he is challenging your authority. Peck him back. Don't hurt him, but hard enough for him to realize that you mean business. Chase him around if he challenges you. He needs to respect YOUR space.

So very kind, thank you.

 

[Chuckkeeper]

As @SBFChickenGirl said make sure he respects your authority. Besides that it won’t be much different from keeping a hen, care for them the same way but make sure you have other food besides layer feed once they get older(unless you are planning on feeding them all grower feed or all flock). The reason for not feeding layer feed for the cockerel is because the extra calcium is not good for him since he doesn’t lay eggs. In terms of breeding the hens that can vary between bantam roos but most of the time your fertility rate is not going to be very high. Since he is so short he will have trouble reaching the hens cloaca. So if you aren’t planning on really getting chicks you should be fine. That’s all I have for you and if you like you could always do more research online! Also if you have any questions feel free to ask!

So very kind, thank you.