Oh oh...I think she's a he!

[Catnip5]

So my olive egger Hedy Lamar is looking more like a Clark Gable. Can anyone confirm my suspicions ? I have 10 girls that are just over a year old and 8 girls that are this years additions. This will change the dynamic is she's s he! Anyone have an OE roo ? Hoping for quiet & friendly...is that a pipe dream? Also, who's genes dominate egg color...wondering what I'd get with an OE roo & my girls...I've got a wide assortment (brown, white & blue egg layers).

 

[drumstick diva]

WE need to see photos first

 

[Catnip5]

Well, no luck uploading via the app so had to download on my computer to upload here. I'm fairly sure she's a he...curious about the gene dominance with hens and roos...if she is a he then an Olive Egger mated with an EE or Spithauben, Sex LInk, Brahma, Orpington etc. etc... What's the egg color produced?

Thanks All!

 

[Catnip5]

Pictures uploaded, phew.

 

[donrae]

Definitely a Clark. He's a handsome guy!


Egg color isn't a dominance thing by parent. Each parent contributes one gene, and together they decide what color the bird lays.

Egg color would be fun here. If he's an Olive Egger, he should have one blue egg gene and one brown egg gene. He'll also have some modifiers for the dark brown eggs. My understanding is the "shade" genes are very complex and there's something like 2 dozen of them that come into play to get the nice chocolate eggs. Anyway, he'll give either a blue or a (hopefully dark) brown gene to each of his pullet offspring.

Bred to a white egger, you'll get blue or brown eggs.
Bred to a brown egger, you'll get green or brown eggs.
bred to a blue egger, you'll get blue or green.
Bred to another Olive egger, you'll have chances to get blue, olive, other shades of green, or dark brown.

 

[Catnip5]

Donrae ~ THANK YOU for confirming Hedy is, in fact, Clark (or maybe Valentino) All my girls are named after Hollywood Divas from the 30's & 40's...so my first instinct was to run with Clark Gable, lol. I have only had girls with this being my second year of ordering female chicks from Meyer...guess they mistook this OE. I've been scared off from having a Roo...but secretly tempted to have one as well. Hopefully I'll have a good experience with him - but wih 17 girls...I think he's outnumbered. Also I have 3 ducks this year, same age. Are they equally protective of the ducks or likely to be aggressive you think?

Great info on the egg color. I literally chose like one of each breed last year just for egg color and did the same this year. Two of the chicks died :-( so these two OE's were replacements. At least I have one OE female.

Thanks for confirmation - now I'm really scared...but excited too. I'm a vegetarian so I hope he turns out to be mellow and sweet or I'm in for trouble as I don't own a "stew pot" and would feel awful if I had to send him somewhere else.

Thanks again!

 

[carlf]

I would keep him, breed him back to your hens and like noted, not telling what color eggs you will end up with!
Check out the posts on how to manage a roo that's gets dominant with you. Make him respect you and you should have no problems keeping him inline.

 

[donrae]

Having him grow up in a flock with mature hens is a good start toward having a respectful rooster.

I don't know if you're a "pet chicken" person or not. My advice is not to try to make a pet of him. I treat my roosters with what could be termed benign neglect. I don't try to interact with them at all for the most part. I do my thing in the coop/run, and expect them (like all my birds) to get out of my way when I walk toward them. If they don't yield to me, I keep moving toward them and push them with my foot if needed. Doing this, I've never had a male grow up here that's been aggressive.

 

[Catnip5]

Interesting advice! My first flock from last year were handled often so most of them are very friendly and have no issues with my picking them up for health inspections and/or a sentimental hug . This years batch (and the three ducklings) didn't get as much handling so they are much more aloof and hand shy, which is a bummer really. Then again I recall that once they first girls started laying they were much more submission to handling and enjoyed being held so I'm hoping for the same level of friendliness. That being said only a handful of the 17 are true "cuddlers" and this fella isn't one of them. He is respecting the older girls - makes me wonder whether he will defend them like he will his own flock mates? As for me he seems to get out of my way and wants no part of handling - which I've been thinking I should start to do more of...but maybe not, afterall. Clearly I have some studying to do now that I have a Roo. I've never been one to part with any animal that comes into my care so he's with me for the long haul come hell or high water. What is the ideal ratio of hen to rooster in a flock? I have another in this younger batch which I'm wondering about...a blue cochin. Hoping I don't have two Roos! I'll grab some pictures tomorrow. Tonight is for studying.

THANKS!!!

 

[donrae]

I would consider his behavior perfect. Consider your hens pets, let your rooster be livestock with a job to do. Don't try to make him a pet. There's no reason to handle him on a daily basis. My roosters get touched maybe 2-3 times a year, and that's usually to move to another pen.

Right now he's still a baby. You can't measure his mature behavior by what he does now. Those older hens are teaching him manners, and that's a good thing. When his hormones hit and he starts breeding, things will change and he'll consider them all his harem.

"Ideal ratio"....you'll hear folks spout the 1:10 number like it's magic. It's so not. That's the number breeding pens came up with that allows maximum fertility and minimum wear on the hens (for the most part). I've had young roosters keep 2 dozen hens fertile easily. I've had one free range rooster with 2 dozen hens available be a psycho stalker and terrorize two specific hens until I put him in the pot.

With your flock size, you could possibly have two roosters and they'll get along okay. It's a try it and see how it goes kind of thing, animals are unpredictable.