New Flock Newbies!

[Alexz7272]

Hello,

My fiance and I purchased a home that sits on 4 acres last summer. In about February we got a total of 8 black sexlink chicks from the local farm store. We tried our best to follow the sexing of the chicks, but of course being newbies we have ended up with 3 roosters and five hens! We have done a good amount of research online however we have found some contradicting information and figured we could try this site. First, are we able to breed our current chicks (obviously when they are able) to produce more chicks to grow our flock? Is yes, does this produce black sexlink chicks or another type? We do not care if they are different, just curious if they can produce chicks at all. (this has been a VERY confusing part for us) Second, as stated we have three roosters when honestly we have no use for as we only have five hens and we know it can cause issues. Is it optimal to keep two roosters to bred with the hens (if they are able) to create some diversity in the flock as we do plan to expand it? Or would it be easier to just purchase new chicks when the time comes? If we find that we do not need the roosters, what is the best route for removing them? Of course most people say to kill and eat them but is there possibly people who would want our roosters? Lastly, THANK YOU in advance for all your help and please excuse anything we are incorrect about, we are still learning!

-Alex & Aaron

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC!

Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Best of luck to you both and your chickens!

Now, for the questions. If all your chickens are black sex-links then they won't produce black sex-links as they are hybrids. I would actually try and get rid of two roosters as you really just need one for every 1-10 hens you own. (One rooster will also decrease the fights, stress and hen attention.) There are some places on here where you can either sell, trade or swap your roosters. (Links attached below.) I think that covers most of it.

Also, be sure to look into the helpful articles of the learning center!

Again, welcome to the community and feel free to ask any other questions.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/16186/swaps
https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/67/buy-sell-trade
http://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/breeding-chickens

 

[Michael OShay]

Hello,

My fiance and I purchased a home that sits on 4 acres last summer. In about February we got a total of 8 black sexlink chicks from the local farm store. We tried our best to follow the sexing of the chicks, but of course being newbies we have ended up with 3 roosters and five hens! We have done a good amount of research online however we have found some contradicting information and figured we could try this site. First, are we able to breed our current chicks (obviously when they are able) to produce more chicks to grow our flock? Is yes, does this produce black sexlink chicks or another type? We do not care if they are different, just curious if they can produce chicks at all. (this has been a VERY confusing part for us) Second, as stated we have three roosters when honestly we have no use for as we only have five hens and we know it can cause issues. Is it optimal to keep two roosters to bred with the hens (if they are able) to create some diversity in the flock as we do plan to expand it? Or would it be easier to just purchase new chicks when the time comes? If we find that we do not need the roosters, what is the best route for removing them? Of course most people say to kill and eat them but is there possibly people who would want our roosters? Lastly, THANK YOU in advance for all your help and please excuse anything we are incorrect about, we are still learning!

-Alex & Aaron

Let me take your questions in order.
First, on the sexing of BSL chicks. If they have a white spot on the top of their heads, they are males. If they are solid black, they are females.
2nd, if you breed two BSLs together, their offspring will not be BSL. BSLs are hybrids produced by crossing Rhode Island Red males with Barred Rock females and they will not reproduce true to the BSL parent stock.
3rd, yes your BSL roosters and hens can breed and reproduce (just not more BSLs).
4th, if you are planning on expanding your flock, you can keep two roosters, but 2 is too many for only 5 hens. One rooster per every 8-10 hens is as many as you should have.
5th, it might be easier to purchase new chicks when you are ready to expand your flock as BSLs are not readily broody hens. Other advantages of purchasing are new blood to add to your flock, you won't need any roosters, you will be getting more BSLs, and you can order all pullets. On the down side, you won't have the joy of seeing a mother hen raise her brood and you will have to do all of the work that she would do for you.
6th, the best route for removing them is probably eating them for the following reasons: They are good dual-purpose birds (therefore they have plenty of meat on them). Because they are roosters and not even a standard breed, you will not be able to sell them for much.
Hope this helps to answer your questions.

 

[lazy gardener]

Congratulations on the purchase of your new home. This is an exciting time for you.

First, lets address the black sex linked part: Were the chicks supposed to be straight run, or were they sexed? If they were sexed, which should have been the case if they were black sex links, all the chicks in the bin should have had a black head and therefore been female. If they were straight run, the males would have had a white spot on the top of their head. So, if you DO have black sex linked chickens, the cockrels will now have black and white barred feather pattern, and the pullets will have black feathers with perhaps a bit of brown/reddish feathers on breast and hackles (that is variable). Sex linked chickens are excellent layers, but they have a reputation for burning out after a couple of years. They lay extremely well, but often succumb to reproductive related illness at a fairly young age. (your mileage may vary!) You can eat your extra roos, and even put the hens in the crock pot when they age out, but there's not much meat on their carcass. They put all of their energy into laying, and are feed efficient. They rarely go broody.

Now, regarding the issue of breeding, keeping roosters, and hatching chicks vs. buying replacement chicks. You can definitely keep a rooster, and breed your own chicks in the future. But, even one rooster with 5 girls may harass and over-breed the girls resulting in ragged plumage, bare backs and a stressed flock. On the plus side, a GOOD roo manages his flock, takes care of his girls, shares the choice morsels with them, and may even help raise the chicks. A sex linked rooster and a sex linked hen will not produce a sex linked chick. They will produce a mutt chick that will likely be a nice addition to your flock, and I'm guessing will be a nice healthy bird. You can breed 3 generations before you need to worry about genetic issues, that is assuming that there are not any congenital issues that show up in your chicks. So, if you want to breed your own chicks, you'll need an incubator. If you want to breed chicks in successive years, it may be beneficial for you to look at the many options of pure bred chickens for your future generations. You may want to look at Henderson's chicken breeds chart.

Lastly: What to do with those roosters: Most likely, you won't find anyone who wants a sex-linked rooster, unless they plan to eat him. After putting the feed into them, if you are not opposed to butchering your own meat, this would be a good way to go, as you would know that they have been treated humanely up until their last moments. As long as they are disposed of humanely, and not dumped on the side of the road or in the woods (as some irresponsible chicken owners have done) they will most likely end up on your table or someone else's table. This is the down side of owning poultry. I wish you the best with your little flock.

 

[hannahrachel]

Hello! Yes, when your chickens mature they will be able to breed. However, unless a hen of yours goes broody (i.e. Decides to hatch and raise chicks herself), you will have to use an incubator. You can buy an incubator, or make your own--this site offers lots of ideas! Just go to incubators, and there are hundreds you can look at for reference, should you choose to build your own.

As for the rooster question, I would personally only keep one rooster. With five hens two roosters would be too many, and you could potentially end up overbreeding your hens.

This is Buffy. Even though there are 15 hens in my flock and only two roosters, her back is bare from overbreeding (she is the favorite of one of my roosters).

If you want to add diversity later, you can always buy more chickens.

Anyway, I hope that was helpful! Welcome to BYC!