NY chicken lover!!!!

Hello. I'm in upstate NY near Binghamton.
I'll be looking to rehome a cockerel soon. Ended up with 2 instead of 1 cockerel with my now 9 pullets. They were 13 weeks old Monday so I still have time to find one a new home. I want to wait until they reach sexual maturity before re-homing one.
Anyone near me interested in taking on a cockerel? I'd prefer him to be a flock guardian but realize I'll have no control over that once he leaves my flock.
You can have 2 Roosters ..if they grow up together ..they wiil usually be okay.Ive had 2 with my flock of and on for a while . I always thought they were safer with 2 Roos
 
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I havent been on in a while as I wasnt getting Notifications..
Its been a hot summer .I sold 2 of my Spitz roosters ..The older one I kept isnt doing his duty . He is a timid boy and his wings arent quite right so he may have trouble . tried hatching with my broodys ..none grew ..So I bought some fertile eggs from a Mennonite Farm near port byron . they all seem to be growing ...1 hatched today 5 or 6 pips . they will be hybrids of orpingtons , barred rocks, rode Island Reds
 

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You can have 2 Roosters ..if they grow up together ..they wiil usually be okay.Ive had 2 with my flock of and on for a while . I always thought they were safer with 2 Roos

I guess I can wait to see how they do when they hit sexual maturity. They've been sparring since they were 3 weeks old and I only have 9 pullets and absolutely no room for more. I must admit, i have serious doubts of it working out.
 
Hi fellow NY'ers (down in southern NY, Westchester). My husband, Bill, and I just recently started to raise 8 chicks. We asked to have all hens, knowing there's a chance of getting roos, but we took the risk. Sadly, we wound up with 4 roos and 4 hens. We are going away soon and when we get back it will be too late to raise chicks again until they're old enough to go outside in the bitter cold. Additionally, we risk raising roos all over again. So my husband suggested we should just buy grown hens but then we have to worry about knowing how old they are. Are they really at the end stage of laying? And, what if we introduce them to the other hens. Will that be safe, because we don't have a secondary unit to use as an intro phase. Someone told us if we buy older hens then we should just put them in the coop at night and when they all wake up they won't know the difference and the hens will all get along.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Where is the best place to get full grown hens that haven't started
 
Hi fellow NY'ers (down in southern NY, Westchester). My husband, Bill, and I just recently started to raise 8 chicks. We asked to have all hens, knowing there's a chance of getting roos, but we took the risk. Sadly, we wound up with 4 roos and 4 hens. We are going away soon and when we get back it will be too late to raise chicks again until they're old enough to go outside in the bitter cold. Additionally, we risk raising roos all over again. So my husband suggested we should just buy grown hens but then we have to worry about knowing how old they are. Are they really at the end stage of laying? And, what if we introduce them to the other hens. Will that be safe, because we don't have a secondary unit to use as an intro phase. Someone told us if we buy older hens then we should just put them in the coop at night and when they all wake up they won't know the difference and the hens will all get along.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Where is the best place to get full grown hens that haven't started

I'll give you my 2 cents but you might want to re-post your thread in the Forum "Managing Your Flock".

I purchased chicks from Meyers Hatchery in Ohio this spring because I wanted to have a better chance of getting pullets. I intentionally ordered 1 cockerel. Well, one of my pullets is a cockerel, so now I have 2 and one will need to be rehomed. Soon.

The hatcheries generally give a 90% accuracy guarantee on their chicks and most hatcheries offer to vaccinate your chicks against Marek's for about $0.50/chick. But you said you wouldn't have time to raise chicks this fall so they would be prepared for our NY winters.

If you are new to chickens and can't tell a pullet from a cockerel, you run the risk of being victimized by an unscrupulous seller. I've heard about this many times on these forums. You may get a younger pullet just coming into lay. There are articles you can read on how to get a general idea of how old a pullet/hen is by examining her.

Sometimes, 4H kids lose interest in their chick raising project after the chicks grow up and you can get some nice pullets that way.

I think you would have problems just putting new full size pullets in with your existing hens for a couple of reasons. First, all new birds brought into your flock should be quarantined for 30 days and then secure INTRODUCTIONS start. It would be about a 6 week process from when you got the second batch of pullets to when the flocks get mixed.

Just putting the pullets on the roost at night with your existing hens won't fool anyone! That trick works with slipping day old chicks under a broody hen after dark when the eggs she is sitting on are near hatching time. Very often in the morning, the broody wakes up and thinks, "OH! My babies hatched! Wonderful!".

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your chicken adventures as much as I have!
 
I'll give you my 2 cents but you might want to re-post your thread in the Forum "Managing Your Flock".

I purchased chicks from Meyers Hatchery in Ohio this spring because I wanted to have a better chance of getting pullets. I intentionally ordered 1 cockerel. Well, one of my pullets is a cockerel, so now I have 2 and one will need to be rehomed. Soon.

The hatcheries generally give a 90% accuracy guarantee on their chicks and most hatcheries offer to vaccinate your chicks against Marek's for about $0.50/chick. But you said you wouldn't have time to raise chicks this fall so they would be prepared for our NY winters.

If you are new to chickens and can't tell a pullet from a cockerel, you run the risk of being victimized by an unscrupulous seller. I've heard about this many times on these forums. You may get a younger pullet just coming into lay. There are articles you can read on how to get a general idea of how old a pullet/hen is by examining her.

Sometimes, 4H kids lose interest in their chick raising project after the chicks grow up and you can get some nice pullets that way.

I think you would have problems just putting new full size pullets in with your existing hens for a couple of reasons. First, all new birds brought into your flock should be quarantined for 30 days and then secure INTRODUCTIONS start. It would be about a 6 week process from when you got the second batch of pullets to when the flocks get mixed.

Just putting the pullets on the roost at night with your existing hens won't fool anyone! That trick works with slipping day old chicks under a broody hen after dark when the eggs she is sitting on are near hatching time. Very often in the morning, the broody wakes up and thinks, "OH! My babies hatched! Wonderful!".

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your chicken adventures as much as I have!

Thank you for your reply. I posted in this thread because I wanted to make sure the response came from someone that experiences the snow winters. Though that's probably a silly thought since many parts of the country has snow, but better safe than sorry?

I had done so much research on how to sex them, and almost all seemed to indicate they were all pullets. From the pink vs red combs (though the cockerels were more pink before they turned red), to the primary and secondary feathers on the wings, to the growth of the feathers at the saddle area.... It was only until 2 started to crow that I knew absolutely nothing anymore.
 
Hi everyone, we're new to the chicken raising gig - live between Utica and Cooperstown. We have started off with 12 - buffs, RI reds and black australorps. So far everyone is doing well. Some are 14 weeks and some are 12 and everyone gets along well. Eventually (probably not til next spring) I would like to add a leghorn, barred rock a delaware and a lavender orpington. Would love to find someone fairly local and would like to find chicks that are partially grown already.
 

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