Olive Egger look like Barred Rock

[Chickbemine]

A perfect olive egg! Congratulations!

Thank you!

 

[Chickbemine]

That is great! What a beautiful egg. Are your pullets already on layer feed? If not, they need to be slowly switched. Large fowl chickens should be fed strictly chick feed for the first five months of their life, and then a bit layer feed should be added into their food. Every day, increase the amount of layer feed by a tiny bit, and then by six months they should be fully on layer feed. If you suddenly change the feed that chickens eat, they have a very likely chance of prolapsing or having other vent issues, so that is why you slowly transition pullets over to layer feed. From what I have read before, female chickens can be fed chick feed for their whole life but they need to eat eggshells to give them the correct amount of calcium.

Great information!!!!! Thank you

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Great information!!!!! Thank you

You are welcome!

 

[Chickbemine]

Great information!!!!! Thank

Great information!!!!! Thank you

is it beneficial to have a rooster?

 

[Chickbemine]

Is it beneficial to have a rooster?

 

[ShrekDawg]

Is it beneficial to have a rooster?

Do you want to hatch chicks? If not, you don’t need one but they can provide some protection from predators or at least an alarm system as well as find treats for the hens, etc. if they’re a good rooster lol plus they’re just adorable and most of mine have been very friendly and sweet. Some even liked being held. Honestly I liked some of my roosters better than some of my hens hahaha but I have had amazing hens too. So it just depends what your needs are. They definitely have a lot of benefits IMO and I will always keep at least one (when I can have poultry again) but they can have cons too. They can be aggressive to humans and each other. I’ve dealt with that.

 

[Chickbemine]

Great information!!!!! Thank you

Do you want to hatch chicks? If not, you don’t need one but they can provide some protection from predators or at least an alarm system as well as find treats for the hens, etc. if they’re a good rooster lol plus they’re just adorable and most of mine have been very friendly and sweet. Some even liked being held. Honestly I liked some of my roosters better than some of my hens hahaha but I have had amazing hens too. So it just depends what your needs are. They definitely have a lot of benefits IMO and I will always keep at least one (when I can have poultry again) but they can have cons too. They can be aggressive to humans and each other. I’ve dealt with that.

Someone shared with me that the rooster was always on the hens and ruined their feathers. Seems like the hens were on edge even though she said he was good with humans. Maybe one day have chicks but wouldn’t know where to begin like what type of rooster is best to start with

 

[ShrekDawg]

Someone shared with me that the rooster was always on the hens and ruined their feathers. Seems like the hens were on edge even though she said he was good with humans. Maybe one day have chicks but wouldn’t know where to begin like what type of rooster is best to start with

They probably didn’t have enough hens for the amount of roosters they had. Although some roosters are just bad roosters and rough with their hens no matter how many hens they have. Other roosters could have just a couple hens and be extremely gentle and not ruin feathers. So that depends too. And the best rooster depends on your goals like if you want to breed for eggs, meat, just friendly backyard pets, all 3, none of those, etc. but generally for your first rooster you want a gentle and friendly breed. Orpingtons are usually pretty gentle birds. The buff variety is probably easiest to find. Barred Rocks are another good one or Black Australorps. Brahmas and Cochins are also good but they’re quite large so maybe not great if you have smaller hens. If you want to breed for eggs, you can’t go wrong with a Leghorn rooster. There’s plenty of other breeds too. These are just a few.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Is it beneficial to have a rooster?

It depends on how the rooster acts. If you can find a good one, then he will make sure the females are protected, their eggs are fertilized, and that they always get the tasty food first. That is what a proper rooster should be doing. He also should be always watching out and is the first one to alert at any strange noise or sight. How a rooster behaves varies greatly. I have had ones that focus on nothing but females to the point of making them faint (do not worry, I took care of that). Meanwhile I have a rooster, Jasper, that has two hens and he rarely mates or really even seems like he cares about mating. Remember that the correct ratio of roosters to hens is 1:10. I just got lucky with Jasper. If the rooster is high-hormone then he should have more hens than that. If he is not, then he can handle less, like Jasper.

 

[Chickbemine]

It depends on how the rooster acts. If you can find a good one, then he will make sure the females are protected, their eggs are fertilized, and that they always get the tasty food first. That is what a proper rooster should be doing. He also should be always watching out and is the first one to alert at any strange noise or sight. How a rooster behaves varies greatly. I have had ones that focus on nothing but females to the point of making them faint (do not worry, I took care of that). Meanwhile I have a rooster, Jasper, that has two hens and he rarely mates or really even seems like he cares about mating. Remember that the correct ratio of roosters to hens is 1:10. I just got lucky with Jasper. If the rooster is high-hormone then he should have more hens than that. If he is not, then he can handle less, like Jasper.

Any particular type?