is my 'Pullet' a 'Rooster?!

[donrae]

everyone else is female

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

everyone else is female

x2, the rest are pullets.

 

[Coop Deville]

That is a very nice rooster. I'm sorry you have to part with him!

 

[donrae]

I was looking back at your other thread--you bought this bird at 20 weeks? You really need to contact the seller and get a return or refund. At 20 weeks it's highly likely the seller knew it was a rooster.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I was looking back at your other thread--you bought this bird at 20 weeks? You really need to contact the seller and get a return or refund. At 20 weeks it's highly likely the seller knew it was a rooster.

x2 People are all too often unscrupulous when it comes to dealing in livestock.

 

[BantamLover21]

Thanks @Wyandottes7 , @WalkingOnSunshine , @donrae , @enola , and @BantamLover21 the more I look at 'him' now the more obvious it is to me! I think I was just hoping that I was wrong.... I appreciate all the pointers. My daughter who named him 'Cinderella' is having a hard time accepting that he's actually Prince Charming now, but she is only 3yrs old!

I called the hatchery and they're going to let us swap him out for a Pullet as our city rules here don't allow Roosters and I would prefer an egg layer! It's got me worried about the rest of our small flock now though. I'm pretty sure a couple of them are ok but can I ask you to cast your expert eyes over the remaining 4?! The Production Red and Silke are both about 25 weeks old and the Black Sex Link and Ameraucana are about 30 weeks old. Thanks in advance!

Other than the Silkie, the rest of your chickens are definitely hens. The Silkie could be a hen, too, but its difficult to tell with that breed until they either crow or lay an egg--I can't tell for sure with yours yet.

 

[jodiplunk]

@BantamLover21 thanks for that. How old are Silkie's when they start to crow in your experience? 'She' wasn't skittish when we got her from the breeder, sat quietly in her hand which she told us was a better sign, but she did tell us that Silkies can be hard to sex. One question, if she was a Rooster rather than a hen wouldn't she and the Amber Star Rooster be at each other the whole time? I was thinking that 2 Roosters don't normally live peacefully together and these two have managed to so far. Just a thought? Thanks for your help!

 

[donrae]

That whole "roosters fight to the death" thing is quite overrated. I have 5 roosters in my main coop and 3 roosters in a grow out pen with 2 pullets and 4 hens. Most of my guys are in the 5-6 month range, with one 18 month old rooster. There's been no fighting or injuries. Space is the big thing, plus just having roosters that are laid back.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

That whole "roosters fight to the death" thing is quite overrated. I have 5 roosters in my main coop and 3 roosters in a grow out pen with 2 pullets and 4 hens. Most of my guys are in the 5-6 month range, with one 18 month old rooster. There's been no fighting or injuries. Space is the big thing, plus just having roosters that are laid back.

x2. I think people get the idea that two roosters will always kill each other from hearing about cockfighting--but that's a highly unnatural situation. We have two full grown roosters and two 17 wk old cockerels in our flock right now. As donrae says, as long as they have enough space, then when they spar a bit the loser runs away. We have some scrapping in the spring sometimes, but all that happens is they lose a few feathers. Once they settle the pecking order again, in about 24 hours, then they're back to sitting peacefully on the roost together.

 

[BantamLover21]

That whole "roosters fight to the death" thing is quite overrated. I have 5 roosters in my main coop and 3 roosters in a grow out pen with 2 pullets and 4 hens. Most of my guys are in the 5-6 month range, with one 18 month old rooster. There's been no fighting or injuries. Space is the big thing, plus just having roosters that are laid back.

x3. I have five roosters (4 nine-month olds, 1 over a year old) living together. When they first met eachother, there was some fighting, but no blood spilled or many feathers ripped out. Now, they clearly have a pecking order, as one of them is afraid to go near the others, but they live basically the same as the hens nearby. As long as roosters have either no hens, or enough hens, in most cases they'll get along fine. Its only birds that are bred/have been bred in the past for fighting, like games, that can cause trouble.