Hi! I'm new here

Date sort Score sort
mothertractor

mothertractor

Hatching
Feb 6, 2016
7
1
7
Sacramento county, California
I am new here, but not totally new to backyard chickens. We are on our second flock of hens, still waiting for them to start laying. The first group of hens we hatched out over 5 years ago and they just weren't keeping up with demand and had all sorts of defects. This time we started with 13 week old pullets, they seem to be a bit hardier and more well bred than their predecessors, but are taking their own sweet time to start laying. I figure as the days get longer they will fall in line. Our local rules allow 6 hens and no roosters, we have 2 Australorps, 2 New Hampshires and 2 Rhode Island reds. I am certain 1 Rhode Island is a rooster, but at 6 plus months he hasn't crowed. Actually hoping he doesn't, then he can stay. Has anyone ever had a rooster that never crowed?
 
welcome-byc.gif
glad you have joined us. And congrats on getting your new flock.

I have no experience with roosters, but would expect a crow by now - hope he's a she! You may want to post a pic of the possible fellow to get some experienced input here, or post it under "what breed/gender forum for other opines. ( I think you need a number of posts to be able to upload a pic?).

Good luck with the new ones, wish you many, many eggs to come very soon.
 
agree with Sunflour - we'd have to see a photo first though.. If you welcome a few new members here - you can get your post count up and will be able to post photos.
 
Hi and welcome to BYC. Great that you have joined us. I do hope that your second flock is more productive for you. I'm afraid patience is the name of the game when it comes to getting your first eggs!

All the best
CT
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. Most cockerels begin crowing from 4-5 months, but sometime it can be considerably longer and on rare occasions it can be nearly a year, but I've never heard of a case where a rooster never crowed. If you haven't done so already, definitely check out our Learning Center at https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center. There is lots of useful information there. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.
 
Thank you to everyone! We were hoping for six hens, but this one is much larger with beautiful tapered feathering at hackles and saddle, slight spur buds and very elegant carriage. I've decided he can stay as long as he doesn't crow, may try the collar otherwise he'll have to join my mothers girl in the country. He is a beautiful specimen.
The last batch of birds we hatched from purchased hatching eggs and we had eggs at 5 months and put the cockerels in the freezer. So we know the waiting is worth it. I was happy with the Australorpes last time, but wanted try some reds. The New Hampshires are my favorite right now, there's just something old fashion and homey about them. This batch is from a different source, they seem stronger and more defect free, so we'll see. If the mute rooster stays that way I may use the incubator again. Time will tell!
 
Hey there, I'm new too but I bet you a nickel you have a shy cockerel. The pointy saddle feathers give them away. I learned the hard way, lol. I thought I had 5 pullets and one cockerel but it was the exact opposite. They were Jersey Giants and started getting mean as snakes when they realized they were manly men. They found themselves at other homes..
 
welcome-byc.gif


It's nice to have you here. If you have any questions, always feel free to ask. There's a lot of information here and a lot of helpful, knowledgeable members.

Thanks for joining us!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom