one roo, one ???

[hensonly]

Hi,

A while ago I posted about my crowing "pullet", and another bird I wasn't sure of gender.

Here are pics of the two of them:

The white one is the one who's crowing. The red is the one I'm not sure of - it sure looks like a roo, but as far as I can tell it's not crowing. They're 12 weeks (the photos were taken at 10 - 11 weeks).

I'm concerned about having two roos with 13 hens... I really hope the red is a hen. Not counting on it, but hoping!

Opinions?

 

[Heather J]

With 13 hens, you'll probably be okay with two roos, unless they start fighting each other--and mine didn't with fewer hens than that.

 

[Ellie_NY_chick]

He looks like a rooster to me. I'm overrun with boys also. We're going to build a bachelor pad for them I think.

 

[steffpeck]

You have 2 roosters. The red one is a Rhode Island Red and the other looks like a Golden Comet Sex-link. We had 2 roos with 12 hens and they each had their group of girls, and for the most part they got along really well. The only time there was a issue is if one of the roos went after the others girl, he would be put in his place by the other roo.

 

[hensonly]

Heck - the photo of the red has been "moved or deleted!!" What's that about? It was there when I began typing this post, and gone when I posted it. Does this happen often??!!

Yep, I thought so - I ordered 15 RIR pullets - wouldn't you know, the only RIR I got is a roo, with another roo in the mix for good measure!

An added complication is that the red is the one my 12 year old niece picked out (at 1 day old) to be her hen, that she would get the eggs from!

Said niece is a vegetarian, so I couldn't get rid of the red except to a home that was not going to eat him. It worries me that I hear so much about RIR roos getting extremely nasty.

How do I go about telling the roos that I am the boss in the coop, in a language they can understand? I am fairly familiar with dog body language, but chickens are a new critter for me. Any suggestions?

If the boys are going to fight, when might it start? At 12 weeks, and the red is not crowing yet (I'm pretty sure), I'm guessing the boy-behavior is still to come. Would they start sparring and work up to a real fight, or could it just happen out of the blue?

Thanks for your encouraging remarks that they might actually get along. I do hope so, but if y'all could tell me what to watch for, danger signs, I'd be truly grateful!

 

[chicksinthemachine]

Start carrying him around and petting him often. Treats help too. Just my opinion as each roo has their own personality but I figure it worked with our hen. My 3 year even picks her up and we are currently doing that with one of our roo's. Good Luck!