Light Brahma Rooster Advice - Accidental "Rooster For Warmth"

[The Chicken Man]

Hello Everyone!

I recently purchased 8 sexed pullets,

1 Golden Comet
1 Amberlink
1 Speckled Sussex
1 Buff Orpington
2 RIRs
1 Barred Rock
1 Light Brahma

from my Local Feed Store. All of the Chicks (ranging ages 2-5 weeks) have feathered out very quickly, and are maturing fast. The one Light Brahma, however, barely has his flight feathers coming in, and shows no sign of tail-feather growth. I've noticed two small bumps on the back of his legs which I'm afraid might be spurs. These signs are leading me to think that the Brahma might have been one of those "males for warmth" chicks added by the hatchery.

My question is, would a Light Brahma Rooster be a good match for the breeds I currently own? Would he hurt any of them when he mounts them? Are they calm, with a good temperament? I don't want the neighbors to complain of noise, so are they known to be any more noisy than the average rooster?


The Chick at about two weeks:

Many Thanks!

 

[SpringChickens]

Since you got them from your feed store, there shouldn't have been any males for warmth. The pullets keep themselves warm as long as there are enough of them.

As for the feathering, some breeds just feather faster than others; my EEs feathered much faster than my Australorps.

Spur bumps, look closely at all your birds, they will all have them. Doesn't mean anything at this age.

I would wait a while longer before you decide he's a roo... post pictures on here when they're 5-6 weeks. Someone will tell you.

 

[The Chicken Man]

Thank you! I might just be worrying too much. I was just afraid he might have been a rooster for warmth added by the hatchery when sent to the feed store (they order from Mt. Healthy). We had been experiencing some cold weather in the area at that time (it has warmed up into the 90's by now). I hope he/she is a hen, the neighbors, as I said, might complain. If I had a large farm, I'd love a few roosters, though! I'll post updated pictures when he/she is older.

Thank you again!

 

[gritsar]

Really too early to tell if that's a roo. My brahmas all tended to feather out slowly as they are slow growing breed.
As for your other questions:

Would a Light Brahma Rooster be a good match for the breeds I currently own? I don't see a problem there. He might be too big for some bantams.
Would he hurt any of them when he mounts them? Only time will tell. Some roos are a whole lot more gentle with the hens than others.
Are they calm, with a good temperament? I handled my light brahma roo alot when he was a baby and he grew up and tried to challenge me. I broke him of it, but still. My dark brahma roo I never handled and he is the world's best roo as far as I'm concerned. He has alot of respect for humans. I will never "baby" another roo. I'll save that babying for my hens.
I don't want the neighbors to complain of noise, so are they known to be any more noisy than the average rooster? They are no louder than any other roo. In fact, I'll probably take some flak for this but...I like the deep crow of a LF rooster over the sharp little crows of some bantams.

 

[The Chicken Man]

Thanks, gritsar, for the info! I've also read your rooster taming guide, and I hope mine (if it is a rooster) will turn out to be a "nice" one. I suppose it depends on how I socialize him/her. Whatever the sex of this chick, I like the look of Brahmas, and they seem like a nice breed, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it either way as a member of the flock.

Many Thanks!

 

[Auntbeast]

Just so you know, there are folks out there (me) who used a feed store to order their chickens from and asked for just pullets. I did not need 25 chicks, nor did I need the massive amount of roosters likely in a straight run. However, I did want ONE.

You might want to keep in touch with the feed store, if he sold the light brahma hens, someone might be wanting the rooster. God knows I did.

My local feed store (Kilby's Feed & Seed,great folks) ordered from Mt. Healthy also. My little girls are about a week old and have a year old rooster I found on craigslist waiting for them.

He will be one happy rooster...one day.

Did I mention how beautiful Light Brahma roosters are? Mine is a knockout.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Provide him with food, water and shelter; then ignore him except for routine health checks. It may sound horrible, but having a roo that's a tad bit afraid of you is not a bad thing. IMO, holding a baby roo alot causes them to lose their fear of you and a roo that's not afraid is more likely to challenge you.

 

[jprinc44]

My Light Brahma Roo did less damage to my hens than the Americauna roo I have now. He seemed to be a lot more gentle. Janet

 

[The Chicken Man]

Thank you, everyone! I'm looking forward to my Light Brahma. I'm getting pretty sure he might be a rooster, as I went back to pick up some feed the other day and noticed the new shipment of day-old Light Brahma pullets (by then about a week old). Every one was twice as big as my almost three week old chick!

I love the look of Light Brahmas, and I hope I will be able to find someone locally to sell this possible rooster to. If it grows to be a docile rooster, however, I think I will attempt to keep it (if the neighbors don't complain, that is).

Thank you all for the kind replies!

The Chicken Man