New to this!

[NurseDitmyer]

Hi. My name is Dawn. My husband and I are raising chickens for the first time. We have 7 birds. They are about 4 months old. We were told we have 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Americana's, 2 Barred Rocks, and 1 Cornish Rock. We know we have a rooster, we've heard him in the morning the last 2 mornings. I have a suspicion to which one, but not sure. Also, can hens lay eggs without a rooster? I don't think our neighbors would be happy to hear him in the mornings? He are a lot of pics of my birds. Thanks.

 

[Muggsmagee]

Dawn did this accidentally get posted twice? The last pic is an Easter Egg rooster. It is the only rooster I see. Are you sure you don't want more? You will learn to appreciate chicken math!

Welcome to BYC!

 

[NurseDitmyer]

Yes it got posted twice. I didn't think the first one worked. Then I saw this forum for specifically my question. So I posted here. Opps.

Thanks for your help by the way!

 

[savingdogs]

Well I only see one set of pictures, but I think I can help you out.

Those deep brick colored ones are the Rhode Island red. They will lay brown eggs.

The ones that are speckled white and black are the Barred Rock, but I'm a newbie too and I don't know much about them, just that is what they are. I think they are supposed to be a good egg laying breed.

The ones that are kinda gold with multi-colored tips on the feathers are your "Americanas" but I believe they are actually Easter Eggers. They will lay blue or green eggs or possibly pink or brown.

And finally that black and white one at the bottom looks like an Easter Egger rooster. You do not need a rooster to get eggs, only if you want chicks. Maybe it is an Ameraucana, but I think it is an Easter Egger. But I think all your others are hens.

I'm sure someone more expert can give you more information. But I think you have some great egg laying breeds there, and they are very pretty! You did good! Nice group of chickens, you are going to be eating eggs!

 

[Gallusfarm]

Quote:
I agree with all of the above. The white one is the Cornish Rock... I'm not familiar with the breed but that looks like a rooster. These birds eat a lot, get huge fast and are typically used for meat. It's a nice mix you have there!

 

[gryeyes]

Roosters are not necessary for hens to lay eggs. They ARE necessary if you want to hatch chicks from the eggs.

That fella in that last photo is definitely your rooster. He's an EE cockerel (young rooster).

Your chickens are really good looking and a great mix of good layers!

Now, my dominant rooster is an EE and he's wonderful. I would never have a flock without a rooster, now that I have seen the benefits - and they're not just making eggs fertile for hatching.

If the crowing is a problem for your neighbors, I can understand you worrying about it. I did, too, but I give fresh eggs to my closest neighbors to bribe 'em. They lie and swear the rooster's crows don't bother them at all.

When hens lay eggs, they can make a WHOLE lot of noise, which could be just as obnoxious to neighbors, so consider keeping your rooster, if you can. I mean, since the hens will do the Egg Song loudly every time they lay, and every time another hens lays an egg they'll start up again, cheering her on.... just about as noisy as a rooster crowing.

It's just that a rooster's crow is so identifiable and easy to latch onto as something to complain about. If it's legal for you to have roosters where you live, you should keep one.

Just my opinion.

 

[savingdogs]

I agree! Our roo protects his girls from predators as much as he can, too. They LOVE him, I'm sure if they could vote here, they would be saying "Keep the roo!"

I believe if you have an EE rooster, the offspring could also lay blue eggs because the blue is dominant?

 

[NurseDitmyer]

Thank you everyone for the info. My other concern is that I don't want any fertilized eggs. How long do you have before the egg would be fertilized, if I kept the rooster?

 

[Muggsmagee]

Quote:
If they hens are currently laying, it could be any day! My roos were doing their business as early as 4 1/2 months (Black Jersey Giant). You can eat the fertilized eggs, but I personally can't get passed that idea. There is no identifiable difference...only if it is incubated. I had an EE roo VERY similar to yours...he was lovely, but we just didn't need him.

 

[NurseDitmyer]

The idea of eating a fertilized egg is not appealling. The hen's haven't started laying eggs yet. They are 4 months old. How old before they lay eggs again? I thought I remember it being about 6 months.