Here is another one... Please help!

[Top Rooster]

Fallenone has some good info I'd listen to him or her

 

[drumstick diva]

Hens can grow spurs as well.

 

[keesmom]

The two chickens in this picture are the same age, almost 8 weeks... I got 8 chickens and 6 of them have the red beard/top and its making me think that 6 of them are roosters because some have no beard or top at all.... Please help confirm that they are

You don't need to wait until they start laying to know the sex. The one in front is definitely a cockerel. If you have 5 others like it than you'll have more chicken dinners than eggs.

Do you have a second coop where you can put the males? At some point you are going to have to separate them.

 

[Shane Q]

You don't need to wait until they start laying to know the sex. The one in front is definitely a cockerel. If you have 5 others like it than you'll have more chicken dinners than eggs.

Do you have a second coop where you can put the males? At some point you are going to have to separate them.

I kind of have a second coop. When can I eat the cockerels? 10-12 weeks I heard... They're getting pretty big. Also, when do they start making noise? They're super quiet still!

 

[keesmom]

I kind of have a second coop. When can I eat the cockerels? 10-12 weeks I heard... They're getting pretty big. Also, when do they start making noise? They're super quiet still!

Ten weeks is a little early. Traditional meat birds are done around 8 weeks. I'd wait until 14-15 weeks or so to butcher them, but it's up to you. The earlier they're processed the more versatile they are to cook. Not to mention less feed for them too.

 

[Shane Q]

We all started as newbies. Nothing to apologize for! We learn new things every day with our feathered dinosaurs, or at least I do.

I'm going to guess that the one in front is a rooster and the one behind is a pullet. For them all being the same age (potentially?) the one in front has a large comb and wattle set compared. I could be wrong, though, and it's just a hen who's taking off faster than the others.

However, here's some information for you.

It'll be hard to tell, but here's a few things you can do -

If you have any free time at home, sit with your chickens and watch them. If your chickens bump breasts with one another a lot, they're fighting for dominance and can be a rooster fighting another, or a hen trying to knock the rooster down a peg. I had a bantam hen take on a full size rooster, and she held her ground with him really easily.

When you're home, though, you can always keep an eye on who does the submissive squat in the flock, especially if they react to your hands like in this video

The submissive squat is a good sign a hen is getting close to laying, and roosters will take advantage to breed the girls when they see it. If the chicken with the larger combs starts treading on any of the chickens, regardless of if they're doing the squat, they're most certainly a rooster. Boys almost always seem to reach sexual maturity faster than hens, and roosters can be aggressive about it.

Great thank you!

 

[Shane Q]

Ten weeks is a little early. Traditional meat birds are done around 8 weeks. I'd wait until 14-15 weeks or so to butcher them, but it's up to you. The earlier they're processed the more versatile they are to cook. Not to mention less feed for them too.

Thanks! And the second coop I have is just basically a big cage.. that is why I said "Kind of have a second coop" but I think I should close it off somehow that way there is no breeze at night even though its warm now...

 

[mrsdee]

But I have a feeling that the one in the front here is a cockerel and the one in the back is a pullet.