I won the rooster lottery

[mrswalker]

Last spring I bought 4 "sexed" day old chicks that turned out to ALL be roos. A hen hatched out two more babies, got two more roos. Finding homes for them took well into the summer and meant hours and hours of driving all over the place to their new homes.

BUT. NOW.

One of my hens hatched a clutch of 12 babies in late October, and I've realized that out of all those babies, I only have TWO cockerels! Just TWO! I'm absolutely BESIDE MYSELF with that ratio. This is the first time I can keep every single chick I have, and (between the pullets and the fully grown hens I already have) I don't have to worry about the roo/hen ratio, for once!

(And they are all beauuuuutiful EE/RIR crosses. STUNNING.)

I know if anyone understands my joy, it'll be you all

**Edited to add photos - these are ALL the same ages from the same parents! And there are still more not pictured!**

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Last spring I bought 4 "sexed" day old chicks that turned out to ALL be roos. A hen hatched out two more babies, got two more roos. Finding homes for them took well into the summer and meant hours and hours of driving all over the place to their new homes.

BUT. NOW.

One of my hens hatched a clutch of 12 babies in late October, and I've realized that out of all those babies, I only have TWO cockerels! Just TWO! I'm absolutely BESIDE MYSELF with that ratio. This is the first time I can keep every single chick I have, and (between the pullets and the fully grown hens I already have) I don't have to worry about the roo/hen ratio, for once!

(And they are all beauuuuutiful EE/RIR crosses. STUNNING.)

I know if anyone understands my joy, it'll be you all

If you know who laid the eggs the girls came from, I would definitely hatch more of those. Females are the ones who decide the sex in poultry, and like every other animal, some lean more one gender than the other

 

[mrswalker]

If you know who laid the eggs the girls came from, I would definitely hatch more of those. Females are the ones who decide the sex in poultry, and like every other animal, some lean more one gender than the other

I wish I could, but she's no longer with us She was killed defending one of her babies from the older hens. I miss her so much.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Last spring I bought 4 "sexed" day old chicks that turned out to ALL be roos. A hen hatched out two more babies, got two more roos. Finding homes for them took well into the summer and meant hours and hours of driving all over the place to their new homes.

BUT. NOW.

One of my hens hatched a clutch of 12 babies in late October, and I've realized that out of all those babies, I only have TWO cockerels! Just TWO! I'm absolutely BESIDE MYSELF with that ratio. This is the first time I can keep every single chick I have, and (between the pullets and the fully grown hens I already have) I don't have to worry about the roo/hen ratio, for once!

(And they are all beauuuuutiful EE/RIR crosses. STUNNING.)

I know if anyone understands my joy, it'll be you all

**Edited to add a photo of some of my favorites.**

View attachment 2987324

They are GORGEOUS! I need one!

 

[The-White-Elephant]

If you know who laid the eggs the girls came from, I would definitely hatch more of those. Females are the ones who decide the sex in poultry, and like every other animal, some lean more one gender than the other

So they decide if the chick will be male or female?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

So they decide if the chick will be male or female?

Yes. I had one female that constantly laid male and one that out of probably 20, only had 1 or 2 males hatch so far

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Yes. I had one female that constantly laid male and one that out of probably 20, only had 1 or 2 males hatch so far

I never knew this, thanks! So it just depends on the hen?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I never knew this, thanks! So it just depends on the hen?

Yep. Like all animals, the average will be roughly 1m:1f, but its a larger difference within individuals

 

[mrswalker]

They are GORGEOUS! I need one!

So far, all the babies born here were fathered by my one Roo who is an Easter egger and all his babies are so pretty. Here he is, and the big black and green is his son! (Mother was a white Brahma, he’s bigger than both of them!)