Not sure if my hen is a roo

[donchel123]

My first time raising chickens so could someone please look at my "girl" and let me know what you think? I just found out my other "girl" is a roo! Im freaked out i have another. If i have 2 will they be okay together? Also have a girl that is being picked at so bad. The one in question is on the left.

 

[Bridebeliever]

That looks very rooish to me! Sorry!

Very pretty though!

We'll wait for others to comment...

 

[Kev]

Yeah you have two roosters for sure.

You'll probably get ALL sorts of answers as to two roosters but the basics:

It's possible they can live together peacefully forever, with one being dominant over the other but no fighting.

It's possible one might soon decide he wants to be the only roo after they have hit full sexual maturity.

Many roosters are somewhat tolerant, as long as the other roosters stays a certain distance away, they are allright but will make aggressive actions if the other is too close or he catches him breeding a hen.

The other issue you haven't asked about though- is there enough hens? Two roosters and 2 or 3 hens is too many roosters. Better have 6-10 hens per rooster, particularly if the rooster is a very frequent breeder(some are like this, others are moderate.... but some cockerels are very frequent then mellow out to moderate breeders).

 

[donchel123]

Thank you for the confirmation. . Its what we thought. "She" has been my sweetest bird.

 

[donchel123]

Reply to the fock master. . I only have 4 birds total. So now i have 2 roo's and 2 hens. This im guessing is an issue. We are new to this and im getting worried about one of my girls. She is being pecked at all the time but we are letting them free range all day to get them out of their run and not be confined. Thank you for the information now we don't know what to do. I will say the one i was guessing is my sweetest bird.

 

[Kev]

Who's doing the pecking? and is it deliberate pulling out of the feathers?

with just 4 it probably is the best to pick only one rooster, but to be honest, roosters are not necessary at all so getting rid of both won't be a bad thing.

the other option is to get more girls but this has risks of its own- introducing disease, making things even more crowded etc.

 

[donchel123]

Flock master - our intention when we got them was to hopefully have all hens. . But now find ourselves in a hard spot. The one i posted the pic about is doing the pecking and all her tail feathers are now gone. We are now talking,about getting rid of one roo because we now know at the end of the day we need too. Just sad

 

[Kev]

Yeah it's very sad, especially for people who got them for pets or thinking all were hens...

Very sorry you have to deal with this.

There are anti- pick lotions and sprays. If you get one, apply it to that girl's tail area. The idea is to let the tail feathers grow out long enough to protected- it's the feathers that are actively growing with the plastic looking sheath around the base that's filled with protein and blood that chickens find extremely delicious. Those feathers in active growth are called "pin feathers".. some birds find them so delicious they become obsessed with hunting and pulling them out. Fully mature feathers don't have this and as result they are not so delicious... so if you can get her tail feathers to grow out, she should look good from then on.

 

[donchel123]

Thank you flick master for all your knowledge and help. We got into this to have our own egg production because we dont trust the store eggs anymore even the organic ones and in the process have grown attached to them. Im going to try and find a good home for my roo but its probably hard to find people that want roos. Thanks again for your help.

 

[chickenraiser24]

Well, it seems your questions have been answered. Unless you want chicks, then you'll probably have to get rid of the roos. If you can have chicks, I would say to keep one roo. Hopefully you can get him a good home!