Probably the STUPIDEST rooster question ever asked on this site....

[mommahen64]

I have nine chickens and can't tell yet who is a roo and who is a hen. I think I have three or four roosters. Bad ratio. I love these birds and don't want to think of the 'cull' word. Is it possible to neuter roosters? Do vets do that? Would it help me keep them and maintain peace in the coop? Please stop laughing, all you veterans out there.....I've only been at this for 6 weeks.

I just can't think of parting with any of these fluffy little characters - they're all awesome. I have two barred rocks, two silikes, two millie fleur d'uccles, and three bantams of unknown origin (ha-ha). Six are 8 weeks old and three are 5 weeks old.

ps: is a cockerel a neutered rooster? (ha, two of the stupidest questions....)

 

[stoneeater]

I beleive a neutered roo is a capon. But I'm pretty new as well.
Still not the dumbest question. I was asked what the temp of my brooder was which I thought was a noun for a broody(verb) chicken. Couldn't figure out where I was supposed to put the thermometer. So I had to ask Brooder? I didn't have any full grown chickens anyway.
So the only dumb question is the one you don't ask.

 

[NoseyChickens]

"Neutering" or caponizing a roo would not be the route I would go. From what I have read it can also be an expensive process. In my personal opinion if you are not going to let your roo be a roo, then why have them? Rehome them if you cannot keep them. I also dont think culling necessarily means killing the bird all the time. Often it just means rehoming a bird that is not desired for breeding, or needed in a certain flock. Most often people dont end the life of their birds unless it is for food. Breeders will sell their "culls" as pet quality.

Having that many roos can be a problem in a smaller flock and lead to aggression. There are vets out there that will caponize a rooster, and there are places on the web you can learn to do it yourself. I personally rehome my extra roosters because I have not worked up the nerve to try processing yet, but I would like to. (Knowing the meat my family is eating was treated well and processed humainly appeals to me but I am a big whimp!) However when I do rehome I do so knowing what end these roosters may indeed meet and I have to accept that. You can use Craigslist or contact your local 4H and often find a new home quickly. I know it's hard especially when you get attached. But the temperment and personality of your roosters may change as they get older and they can become aggessive toward you and your hens if there are too many roosters in your flock.

A cockerel is a young rooster under a year old
A pullet is a young hen under a year old

There are no stupid questions. We were all there once!

 

[mommahen64]

Whew. First, I'm glad that cull doesn't necessarily mean 'kill'....the thought breaks my heart although I know some folks have to do it. Second, I appreciate the advice. I hope that I'm wrong about the rooster situation...nobody is growing the waddle yet or the little spike on the leg. I love this site and am grateful to have access to such knowledgable people.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Cull simply means to remove from the flock, not necessarily killing. I cull by posting my roosters at the feed store and on Craig's List.
Neutering a rooster is called caponizing. Not a very nice process to do yourself, and a vet would charge a fortune.
Nobody's laughing, everybody was a newbie at one time or another.
At 8 and 5 weeks old there should be signs of gender. Organize and post pics, we'll give you an idea of who's what. Note I said organize!
A cockeral is a male less than 1 year, then it becomes a rooster.
A pullet is a female less than 1 year old, then it becomes a hen.

Just to muddy the waters even more, a pullet egg is one from a pullet/hen just starting to lay. They often will lay a few odd eggs- really small, no yolk, etc. Practice eggs, so to speak.

Ask away!

 

[7L Farm]

Sounds like your question got answered . Here's what I did with 14 extra cockerels. I hatched 30 chicks & 14 turned out to be cocks Bummer. I don't no your situation. I put a sign at the front gate that said Roosters for sale. Freinds laughed at me. Low & be hold I got rid of them. I couldn't beleive it. I asked no questions about what they were gonna do with the cocks & to be honest I didn't want to know.

 

[ranchhand]

Dang Nosey, you type a lot faster than I do!

One tiny correction? Ducks waddle, chickens have wattles.

Spurs won't be showing for a while yet, post some pics. The BR are actually pretty easy. The pullets will have wider black bars, a bit more of the dark "wash" down the fronts of the legs. Stand back and squint at then- the predominantely black ones are pullets, predominantely white will be cockerals.

 

[dainerra]

Quote:
you sound like me last year. I bought 9 straight run chicks and 8 of them were cockerels. This year I bought 4 sexed pullets and one of THEM is a cockerel. I'm glad I'm not the only one with bad luck

 

[Bengalcats1]

I made many phone calls to vets asking the same thing and yes they thought I was kooky....If you can't part with your roos then make them a seperate enclosure, a bachelor pad, from my experience when they are raised together they don't fight. Ive never had a prob with fighting roosters, the only prob I had was having to many in with not enough hens and then the hens get overbreed, so making a rooster pen works out great. You get to keep your boys and they don't fight over the girls. Some people will keep a rooster in the girl enclosure and maybe switch off once in a while. Im the same way and get attached to them all. I have tho had to get rid of some because I just had So many it wasn't good for anyone, I usually try craigslist and charge 10$ a rooster, that way Im pretty sure they aren't buying them to eat them.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

It takes a while to learn all the terms and chicken lingo. A cockerel is a male under a year old (however in England and elsewhere they use the word cockerel instead of rooster)

Capon is a neutered male which is done for some meat birds. I think there are actually "kits" for doing that, you would have to do a search on it. I guess you would have to locate an avian vet in your area to find out if they would do the procedure and what the pros and cons are.

We have 4 rooster (used to be 6 but 2 died due to unrelated illnesses) Most of the chickens were raised together and were at first housed in the same coop. We were new to chickens then, but quickly learned that the hens were getting too much male attention. Because the boys got along okay, we built a bachelor roo coop. Of course Buff Orp and Cochin are mild mannered breeds, so that may be one reason it worked so well. We left one roo with the hens. We had a pair of naked necked silkies who lived together in their own enclosure, and he did not over mate with her.