How to improve your chances of getting a cockerel from a feed store?

[jsmonasmith]

I was thinking about this today, I bought 24 chicks from a feed store figuring that with the 90% sexing accuracy my odds of getting a rooster should yield about 3 roosters, so I would be bound to get one. Well I got 24 pullets, after considering how this happened I remember reading that even as chicks the cockerels will challenge danger, they will rise to the occasion rather than run and hide in the corner. I got the last of the pickings from our feed store, so my conclusion is that the cockerels got swiped up first because of their fearlessness. If my theory is right then there would be a higher concentration of cockerels in the first pickings of the feed store chicks and apparently none at the end.

 

[jsmonasmith]

Well, crap, i feel like a horses a$$ right now. Not an hour after I posted this I was cracking eggs open for fried eggs and looking at the spot on the eggs just to get a good clear picture of what non fertile eggs look like an low and behold there is a perfect donut shape around the spot. Apparently my rooster has been laying real low, because I was about 100% sure I didn't have a rooster, but there's no arguing with a fertile egg. Now I need to find out who it is so I don't accidently eat him.

This post https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008, has good explanations about the donut ring.

BTY farm eggs taste amazing!!! They stopped laying for the last 2 months so I've been buying store eggs. Well they finally started again and, WOW! I almost feel like a sinner for eating store eggs any more. Almost as bad as nonfat milk!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Post pics of your flock and I'll "out" your rooster.

 

[True Grit]

I really like your theory though. Maybe your roo is just not that confrontational..

 

[jsmonasmith]

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Thanks, it's getting dark now, but tomorrow I'll take some good pictures and see what you can come up with. I've been watching them more than usual today and still haven't come up with anything. Right about the time I think I have him figured out I'll walk up to fake scare him and he'll assume the position(squat), nope another girl. Most of the flock is still real flighty so I can't necessarily narrow it down with squats completely. The one with the largest comb is the one who just started laying eggs, so she had me stumped also. There is one Barred Rock that I originally thought was a cockerel but just doesn't have the physical appearance. He may be him though. We'll see. If he is the rooster then he is a rather pathetic looking one, but oh well, I'm not picky quite yet.

 

[BooBear]

hehehehe are you sure maybe a neighbor's roo is calling on the girls?

Well Big Boy would kinda ruin the brave roo theory as he hides under the girls when he is scared. He is the biggest of the 5 young cockerels in my Wyandotte pen and the most cowardly one. So you may just have a really big chicken on your hands that Romeo's on the sly.

Reminds me of a story my friend told me about their chickens. Kim n her hubby bought some chickens this fall from a guy at a Auction place near where they live. they got I think she said some production red hens and rooster, some bantams, and some other friends gave them a big white rooster and more hens. The production red rooster they named Fabio who runs from the top rooster. Fabio looks the same as the production red hens from behind so he on purposely runs into the group and puts his head down so the big white rooster that is chasing him cannot tell him from the girls. The white rooster looks very confused when he looses Fabio in the group of girls.

Maybe your Romeo is pulling a similiar fakeout. hahahaha

 

[HeatherLynn]

The real problem is, I went to the farm store before you and tried to buy all pullets and got all Roo's instead.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

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[jsmonasmith]

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I figured there was someone out there like you.

Rooster hoarder!