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2chickenbuddies

2chickenbuddies

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Hello everyone!! So im a happy new chicken owner with a twist, i have two sweet little chicks but they are our house pets! So ive got lots of questions! Our chicks are about 3-4 weeks now and weve had them since they were only a few days old and my first question would be, penguin our black chick was the runt of all the others and now is almost 2x the size of flower or red ranger and the comb is much larger and becoming more red so does that mean its a rooster? Which then would lead to my next question, if it is a rooster can i have a rooster and a hen together without him hurting her or us by being protective of her? I wouldnt
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worry So much if they were outside but they are our inside pets and will b close together all the time. they are soo sweet and cuddly though especially penguin so id really hope to be able to have them both but dont want to lose either of them by death either if its not safe to have them together!
 
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Penguin looks like a cockerel. You can keep a rooster with a hen without hurting her or you, though sometimes a rooster can get over aggressive with humans while protecting his hen/hens it does not happen all the time. I would check out the learning center for helpful articles on that subject(and many more): https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
 
Thats what i thought! Hes so sweet with me i hope he stays that way! Do you think that because hes an inside pet and well always b around us he would b more likely to atay friendly or does it not really matter? I also was wondering about feeding... Because they are not free range to eat bugs an stuff all the time should i have them on a feeding scedual or should they just have a dish of feed always full? Thats how i have it now but dont really know much about chickens and not sure if they can b overfed?!? I do give them a selection of fruits and vegies though they are just now starting to eat.
 
I think he has a better chance of staying friendly. For feeding just have a dish full of food for them to eat out of, no need for a schedule. The only breed of chicken known to over eat is a Cornish X, which are meat birds.
 
Hello and :welcome
We're glad you joined us!

Yes I have to agree with chicken girl, penguin does look like a rooster. You can keep a hen and rooster together, but I wouldn't suggest keeping a rooster in the house. He will crow like crazy and having a crowing rooster in the house is very annoying! They should have a dish of medicated chick starter food always full. They will eat like crazy and need to have food to always munch on. Veggies are good for them, may I suggest you to the article in my signature? It's called "Rasing baby chicks, what to do and what not do to" I'm sure you'll find it very helpful. When you click on it it will take you to the album so once your there click on the title of the article again that's in blue above the pictures. Hope this helps. :)
 
Welcome to Backyard chickens. The problem with one male and one female chicken is - the male will end up breeding her to the point of damage/death. A rooster can handle 10 hens and you have only one. It will not be good for her at all. I don't think you'd want to add another 9 hens to the house.


You could have a small enclosed run with top for them to get safe, outside time and eat some bugs or whatever they find. There is a very good thread called "people with house chickens," You could post there and ask about feeding etc. to see what they recommend.

You can also buy dried or live meal worms - aside from their nutritional chick feed.,
 
Thank u all soo much for sharing you knowledge very very helpful now i have a lot to think about
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Sadly i may have to part with my little buddy, at least from being at our house. We do have a place we can relocate him and still see him but i already love his cuddly purky self
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Would u guys suggest keeping him here untill he gets the point hes ready to mate and starts crowing like can it cause them any kind of anxiety problems if i wait then separate them or should i move him soon? Ahh im so heartbroken
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He will still b loved though!!
 
Well, you don't necessarily need to have 10 hens for one rooster, I have only 7 hens currently and 2 roosters. They all get along fine. It all depends on each roosters individual personality. If you keep him there are the no crow rooster collars that prevent roosters from crowing, but I wouldn't recommend them unless you did all your research and got the right one because certain ones can hurt roosters. I would suggest at least 3 hens for him if you where to keep him and if you didn't, i'd suggest getting one pullet that's VERY close to your existing pullets age so she can have a companion. If you didn't get one close to her age she could peck on the younger one, or the older one could peck on her, that's called the chicken pecking order. Chickens really should be kept in flocks of three or more, but two pullets will be fine. Do you have any other questions?
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