How should I manage housing situation 10 hens -2 Roosters(1 Silkie & Cornish X Rooster!

[StephanieRose44]

I may have posted this in the wrong thread, I wasn’t getting any responses or answers hope I can find someone here who will just give me a little advice on what to do here.

But mating-wise is more if my concern ... what do you do when you have a 2 (but mainly 1) rooster that you don’t want to mate with / fertilize eggs. Honestly I have no idea how that all wotrks although I should but I’ve had too many questions about this and that and the other chicken thing that I can’t keep track of them all!


12 Chickens
2 Buff Silkies
2 Sapphire Gems
1 Cornish X (owner sold to me as a white leghorn
2 Isa Browns
2 Americuanas
2 GLW (I believe )
1 White Leghorn

(2) Roosters ( the 1 Cornish x & 1 Buff Silkie)

They all range from 9-11 wks
I have them together now in a decent sized coop/cage I made but this weekend we will be moving the flock (except for Kurt (The Cornish x he is going to stay in the current makeshift, but I am wondering if I should get another coop to separate the silkies or just seperate the roosters? I don’t want them to be completely separated because they have been together since day 1 but I also dont want them mating and hatching chicks that I’d love if I could but cannot.

I know the Silkie Rooster will attempt to mate with the hens I saw him grab onto my oldest hens neck (isa Brown) 11 wks) but will he be successful one day?

asically I don’t know how chicken mating works if there is a baby chick inside of an egg, what part does the rooster play in this ?

* Also can Silkies mate with other breeds ?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Separate out the rooster you don't want breeding. You can rotate who's out. Keep the penned one in sight and preferably next to, or in the coop.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

The eggs won't hatch unless they are incubated for 21 days. As long as you collect them regularly, no chicks will develop. And, yes, silkie roosters can fertilize hens of other breeds.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

The eggs won't hatch unless they are incubated for 21 days. As long as you collect them regularly, no chick will develop. And, yes, silkie roosters can fertilize hens of other breeds.

Funny, I only mostly read the title and options. You answer makes more sense when you read the attached quote.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Eggs have a white (albumin) with a yolk in the center. Sitting on top of that yolk is an egg. (We call a chicken egg an egg, but basically, it's a makeshift womb.) If it's fertilised, the egg will look like a bullseye. If it's not fertilised, it will look like a dot.

Fertile eggs are no different from infertile eggs. They don't taste different; they don't have any different nutrients.

The only difference between a fertile egg and an infertile egg is that if the egg is kept at a constant 99 F (or thereabouts) for a day, it will begin to develop into a chick. It will take three weeks for the chick to hatch.

We have had this happen once in the hay loft, during a very hot week. In ten years, with a minimum of fifteen hens laying eggs at a time. The chick was approximately the size of a tadpole, and this has never happened before or since. The chances of your eggs developing without a hen setting are miniscule, and it's downright impossible if your hens are confined to a coop from which you can gather eggs every day.

Even if you take the roosters out now, your eggs will still be fertile for a minimum of a week. Hens can store sperm for up to a month.

Roosters do not cause hens to go broody. If a hen is going to try to raise chicks, she will do it whether a rooster is present or not.

Roosters have no effect on egg production unless they're either stressing the hens, or stopping the hens from stressing each other by breaking up fights.

So short answer: if the roosters aren't hurting your hens, why bother with the hassle of separating them? If they are hurting your hens, definitely separate them!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Your chicks are currently 9 to 11 weeks old. They should soon be going from childhood to adolescence. Then eventually they will go from adolescence to adulthood. There can be some setting of the pecking order during childhood, there usually is, but during adolescence is when the hormones really get flowing, they can get pretty violent in establishing dominance. Cockerels are the worst, those hormones really hit them hard, but sometimes pullets can get in the mix. Once they all mature into adults it typically gets really peaceful but during adolescence is when most males are removed from the flock because some people just can't stand to watch what is going on. As someone on here once said, watching pullets and cockerels go through adolescence is not for the faint of heart.

Why do you want those males? The only reason you NEED a male is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is personal preference. There is nothing wrong with personal preference, that can be a strong motivator, but I think your first chore is to decide why you want them so you can decide if you want to keep one. I don't see how you can decide what to do next if you don't know if you want to keep them long term. I always suggest you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you will have problems with more roosters, but the more roosters you have the more likely you are to have problems. For many people the correct answer is zero.

Understand that the Cornish X probably will not last much longer. They are bred to be butchered at a fairly young age unless held to a restricted diet to reduce their size. Either their heart gives out or their skeleton breaks down, they grow so fast. It does not sound like you will eat him yourself, but it might be a good thing to do try to give him to someone who will eat him. That way he won't suffer.

How sure are you that he is a Cornish X? Can you post a photo with him next to some of the others? That is a cruel mistake to make if he truly is a Cornish X.

If you decide to keep that Silkie cockerel I'd leave him with the pullets, at least for now. At 9 to 11 weeks it will be a while before your pullets start to lay. As others have said if the eggs are not incubated they will not hatch so just remove all eggs daily when they start to lay and you will not get any surprise chicks.

It is quite possible when you see them going through adolescence you will want to get rid of him or house him apart from the pullets until they and he matures. That could last a few months and could start fairly soon. I suggest you built a pen where a chicken can be housed next to the rest of the flock so they can see each other but not get to each other so you have it ready, you may want it quickly. A pen like that can come in handy to house an injured chicken if you need to. I'd build it elevated a bit and with a wire bottom so it can be use as a broody buster. Since you say you don't want to hatch chick you will probably need one.

Lots of people have been through this, may as inexperienced as you appear to be. Practically all of them survive. It can be stressful as you see it the first time but try not to make quick decisions. You can and will get through this.

 

[123RedBeard]

Sounds like Kurt needs his own place in a range ... with some potatoes on the side ...

Really though, he is not going to be having much of a good life suffering his health issues ... process him, or have it done before it's too late.

Unfortunately sometimes mistakes happen ... wrong breed, or gender ... time to make the best of a bad situation and look to the future.

 

[StephanieRose44]

Your chicks are currently 9 to 11 weeks old. They should soon be going from childhood to adolescence. Then eventually they will go from adolescence to adulthood. There can be some setting of the pecking order during childhood, there usually is, but during adolescence is when the hormones really get flowing, they can get pretty violent in establishing dominance. Cockerels are the worst, those hormones really hit them hard, but sometimes pullets can get in the mix. Once they all mature into adults it typically gets really peaceful but during adolescence is when most males are removed from the flock because some people just can't stand to watch what is going on. As someone on here once said, watching pullets and cockerels go through adolescence is not for the faint of heart.

Why do you want those males? The only reason you NEED a male is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is personal preference. There is nothing wrong with personal preference, that can be a strong motivator, but I think your first chore is to decide why you want them so you can decide if you want to keep one. I don't see how you can decide what to do next if you don't know if you want to keep them long term. I always suggest you keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. That's not because you will have problems with more roosters, but the more roosters you have the more likely you are to have problems. For many people the correct answer is zero.

Understand that the Cornish X probably will not last much longer. They are bred to be butchered at a fairly young age unless held to a restricted diet to reduce their size. Either their heart gives out or their skeleton breaks down, they grow so fast. It does not sound like you will eat him yourself, but it might be a good thing to do try to give him to someone who will eat him. That way he won't suffer.

How sure are you that he is a Cornish X? Can you post a photo with him next to some of the others? That is a cruel mistake to make if he truly is a Cornish X.

If you decide to keep that Silkie cockerel I'd leave him with the pullets, at least for now. At 9 to 11 weeks it will be a while before your pullets start to lay. As others have said if the eggs are not incubated they will not hatch so just remove all eggs daily when they start to lay and you will not get any surprise chicks.

It is quite possible when you see them going through adolescence you will want to get rid of him or house him apart from the pullets until they and he matures. That could last a few months and could start fairly soon. I suggest you built a pen where a chicken can be housed next to the rest of the flock so they can see each other but not get to each other so you have it ready, you may want it quickly. A pen like that can come in handy to house an injured chicken if you need to. I'd build it elevated a bit and with a wire bottom so it can be use as a broody buster. Since you say you don't want to hatch chick you will probably need one.

Lots of people have been through this, may as inexperienced as you appear to be. Practically all of them survive. It can be stressful as you see it the first time but try not to make quick decisions. You can and will get through this.

Your right on that one. I think it’s horrible and cruel either way whether the store owner had no knowledge of what breeds were what or he did have knowledge of this I’m guessing (with all those stacked up tiers of chicks that were “meat birds”) he could be putting meat bird chicks out when he’s running low on his “inventory” of white leghorns and just selling them to save money I don’t know but I already lost one of the 3 (she was a meat bird definitely) she was around 4 weeks old. I had no idea no where in my mind did I think “meat bird”, she was the same shape as Kurt as a chick and grew the same rounded way. I thought they were both just healthy good eating growing ( falling asleep in the food bowl) Chicks but a week before I moved the chicks to there outside home, I noticed she wasn’t running to the food anymore like she used to, she was just sitting there, and when I picked her up I realized it looked like her was rubbing against the ground I though maybe she was going through first feathering stage (where you find them laying on there side digging into the litter with there legs, roll around kick there legs basically the first time I saw one of them do this I freaked out I thought it was having a seizure and dying or had a broken wing or leg) but eventually realized what is was they were doing and that it was normal So I left her alone the first day, the next day she was in the same spot very lethargic, and she was not moving eating or drinking I tried to figure out what was wrong with her I thought that maybe her crop was impacted or something it just came out of no where she was one of those chicks that thrived from day one so it was very unexpected and very sad That night after just watching her all day trying to help her in any possible way get her to drink to move she wouldn’t do anything I went to the feed store up the street to ask them for advice but that night when I got home she had already died my husband found her and removed her body before I got home. And at that point I was still astonished by Kurt’s prognosis (Meat Bird/Rooster) I was sure she was as well.


I don’t need the roosters, but I feel like I raised them since they were chicks and would feel comfortable knowing that they will be safe living there days happy, healthy, and comfortable. I did originally decide to raise chickens because I’ve always wanted to raise Silkies and since they don’t really produce your average size eggs I figured I’d get one or two more breeds as well (obviously that did not happen I walked out with 7 different breeds)
So keeping the Silkie Roo; I would love to breed them but like I said NOT READY FOR ANYMORE CHICKS YET ! lol maybe within a year or two I’d be ready for that. But I never said that I was unsure if I’d be keeping them all long term? I know that for sure. **Maybe the last post was confusing by saying a new home instead of new coop (as in new coop/same home lol)

And thank you your the first person who said that surprisingly because I think about it everyday it’s not right especially if you really think about it. It’s just is so wrong selling a Meat Bird (especially a Cornish x) off as any kind of other chicken. I had gotten 3 chicks advertised/informed by the owner as White Leghorn Chicks there was probably about 10-15 or so chicks inside the brooder when I opened it up all looked to me like the same little yellow fluff balls )“white leghorn” chicks. It wasn’t until they were around 4-5 weeks old when I suspected 2 of my “white leghorns” were roosters. #1 “Daisy” (who is now Kurt) was just enormous compared to all the other chicks and he was getting a wattle.

Kurt/Daisy (Don’t mind the caption**) He is the Cornish X

Buttercup R.I.P (Cornish X) can’t tell in this picture but I have others.

Kurt Now

White Leghorn -Lucifer

Silkie Roo as a chick
Silkie Roo (Chippie) Now

Silkie hen

Silkie hen I think? & Kurt in the back

I had read and heard about meat birds, which they were actually selling in the Poultry store also but they were on the other side of the store stacked up inside metal tiers kind of reminds me of how they stack bread. I kept hoping that maybe he was a different breed that looks like a Meat Bird. I wanted to know what he was exactly what his breed was, and the other two I had also. What I got was 2 Cornish Xs and 1 White Leghorn. It was all very confusing at the time, now that Silkie Roo popped up, it’s gotten a little more confusing but not as confusing as I think ?