I posted in the other section about 2 of my birds. Seems 2 of my 8 may be roosters. So I am new to this and have no clue about roosters. I have read so much but always skipped info on roosters since they are illegal here. So now I have a few questions (which may be very dumb ) first off how old are they when they start crowing and are all of them loud? mine are a little more then 3 mths now and haven't heard a peep from them. Next can 2 roos live together? also will I end up with babies having a Roo around? I really don't want to give them up. My children are quite attached and to be honest so am I but if they start crowing and neighbors complain they will have to go. Thanks for any advice!! Heather
The age at when a rooster crows will vary greatly depening on the breed and the roo's personality. I have read some posts that say their roo's crowed at one week old, some say as late as 6 or 7 months and some who have had a roo that has never made a peep. My Rhode Island Red roos crowed around 15 weeks ( if I remember correctly). As for your next question about 2 boys living together........ how many hens do you have? The rooster to hen ratio is 10 to 1. If there are not enough girls to keep the boys busy, they will definately fight over the girls once they reach sexaull maturity. Lastly, you will only have baby chicks if you hatch out the eggs or a broody hen hatches them out. It takes 21 days for an egg to hatch so just remove them once the hen lays them. Fertile eggs are perfectly fine to eat and are no different from infertile eggs in regards to being edible.
Quote:Nope, you can only have babies if you hold hands with a boy, everyone knows that! I thought you had to ride on a tractor.
This link may give more info than you want on roosters, but I think it is worth reading it for you if you want to keep your roosters. The 10 to 1 rule concerns fertility. Whether the roosters fight or whether you have barebacked hens depends on the personality of the roosters among other things. The rooster - hen ratio certainly plays a part, but it is not the only thing. Anyway, check the link. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=219443 My first one started crowing at 8 weeks, but as popcornpuppy said, it could be any time. I'd suggest talking to the neighbors and maybe offering eggs for certain ones. Bribery sometimes works. Good luck!
I agree with the other posts. You may decide that you want to raise some chicks providing you have a broody pullet, hen or an incubator. My Rooster was around 4 months old before he started crowing.
I have a 19 week old rooster who has only crowed twice and 3 hens. He was an unintended roo that's for sure! I'm trying to keep him too - so far he hasn't shown any interest in mating and the older/bigger hens chase him away so he's low man on the pecking order. I'm just waiting to see how things progress and hope I can keep him.