Hen or rooster

[Gerisi61]

Hi, I just have registered to BYC. This is a great site!
So you see I am very new here and ne to raising chickens.
I have got some fertile eggs from a neighbour. 6 chicks hatched on Feb 18, 2016. they are 7 weeks old now.
I dont know the breed. I guess they are a mix but I have no idea which. They have all the sAme father.
Can anybody tell if I have hens or roosters? I made some pics. I also named the chickies. Maybe I will have to rename them I would be so happy if I could get some answers from you. THANKS

 

[Lalegid]

I'm relatively new to chicken sexing so I may not be spot on here, but the ones with the big ol' red combs indicate roosters. So I'd say it looks like Agathe, Anton, Alfred and Augustin are the boys. Someone with more experience will come along soon I'm sure, and give you a better idea.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Ada and Adelheid are girls, the rest are roosters.

 

[Gerisi61]

thank you very much!

 

[Gerisi61]

Thank you very much!

 

[Gerisi61]

Thanks for your answers!
I was sure about Anton and Alfred being boys. But I was hoping that Augustin and Agathe could be girls too because their wattles are much smaler than the ones of two boys and also the combs are a bit smaller.
I only can keep 1 rooster. I have 6 older hens and the 2 new ones. so I guess that one rooster is enough.
any ideas how I can pick the right one to keep? is it the best to keep the calmest one?
thanks for your comments

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've had better luck with the calmer ones, the pushy ones go first, than I start removing trouble makers until I find the best behaved. They tend to want to take care of the females, the bad ones just want to mate.

 

[Gerisi61]

At what age should I have only one rooster left. they are 7 weeks old. I see Anton pecking on the others quite often. With me all 4 boys are lovely. they even cuddle with me. so it is a very very difficult decision. I love them all. especialy they are my very first chicken i had incubated. when do they get sexually mature.
at the moment i keep the new chicks seperated from my 6 older ladies. they can see each other but there is a fence in the coop. I am afraid that the only two girls of the young ones can be hurt by 4 roosters once they are mature.
what do you think?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Friendly roosters often attack their owners later on. My bet would be on someone less friendly. If they are slightly wary they tend to be respectful. Overly pushy ones are trouble. I don't ever handle my young roosters unless it's to catch them and move them. My roosters move away from me, not towards me, that's dominant behavior.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Rooster will start causing trouble at about 4 months, that's when I start pulling mine and separating them out. Most I allow to mature fully before judging them. A bad rooster at 6 months can be a great rooster at a year, and vice versa.