Is this a roo?

[Mscluckykeeper]

Got the chicks April 2nd, so they're around 11 weeks old.They are supposed to be Hy-line Browns. One looks different is it a rooster? I thought the sexlink Roos were light colored?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Question - were they sourced from the hatchery/retail store or from a private person? If the latter, it may be a matter of someone having mated hy-line to hy-line and assuming the resulting chicks would be sex linked - which they would not be.

 

[Mscluckykeeper]

A friend of ours bought them and we split the order up as you couldn't order small amounts, I think the order was for 300 chicks. I assumed it was a hatchery.

 

[Michael OShay]

I'm not sure how it happened, but Ol Grey Mare is right; this bird is definitely a cockerel, and it is a second generation Red Sex Link (RSL X RSL) which accounts for its abnormal feather color.

 

[Mscluckykeeper]

That is what I thought. If he is already showing mean tendencies should I get rid of him? I really don't want a rooster I have to be afraid of, or do all roosters have a mean streak?

 

[Michael OShay]

That is what I thought. If he is already showing mean tendencies should I get rid of him? I really don't want a rooster I have to be afraid of, or do all roosters have a mean streak?

Not all roosters are aggressive, but if your cockerel is already showing tendencies toward aggression, I would definitely get rid of him. You don't to risk him injuring someone, nor do you want to breed that kind of aggression into your flock. The only reason you really need a rooster at all is to fertilize eggs for hatching (1 rooster for every 10-15 hens is sufficient) and since the market if flooded with unwanted roosters, you can always pick up a good one from someone else.