Roo Paranoia

[nikki1]

Okay, guys! You're freaking me out! I'm new to this chicken thing, but I am SO excited to get started. We're planning our coop this winter, building it early spring, and getting chicks as soon as we have their home built. I've pretty well chosen the breeds I want to get after doing a bunch of research, but now everyone is sharing their "I got a bunch of roos" stories. It would break my heart to raise a baby and have to rehome it, and eating a baby with a history and a name is simply out of the question. Should I ditch my breed plans and go with red and/or black stars that can be sexed by color? Is it worth the risk to get the breeds I want? We have little kids, so temperament is a big deal to me. Are stars friendly and calm?

We live outside of town, so the authorities wouldn't care if we had a roo, the neighbors have barking dogs, so it serves them right, but my husband might get cranky to be awake early on a Saturday. Would it be best to get my husband really attached to the chicks so he would be willing deal with the noise? (Yeah, I can be a little sneaky. I could probably make him fall in love with the babies. For that matter, I totally understand chicken math, but I haven't explained it to him yet. Poor guy!)

What do you think?

A. Ditch the plans. Buy stars

B. Stick with the plan, but have new roo homes in mind.

C. Learn to live with roos, and get the hubby on board.

Thanks for your input!!!

--Nikki:/

 

[ChickenJill]

What are stars? I would get all hens and ease your husband into it. It has worked for me. And now he is excited about building a coop, collecting eggs and he likes thinking of how to set up automatic doors, but he still does not really like the chickens themselves.....

 

[Chick-n-itis]

It would definitely be worth getting the chickens you want. If you're planning on ordering chicks, My Pet Chicken is wonderful when ordering them on line. We ordered 1 rooster & 20 hens & that's what we got. We have another rooster that's a little older & he is a really good boy. It's also a lot easier to tell them a part when they look different. We have red stars too & they are sooooo sweet. They are very good layers also. Ours started laying at 16wks. It sounds like you have done a lot of research so trust your instincts.

Good Luck!!!

 

[jengro65]

I'm new to the chicken thing too but I believe you should go with your original plan. I read chicken books for 3 years before I had the nerve to actually buy the birds. I imagined all sorts of awful things happening but so far every deviation from my original plan has turned out for the best. I wanted 4-6 pullets that would be laying machines. I bought 10 because I was SURE I would manage to kill a few off with my inexperience.....they all thrived I wanted a rooster not for breeding but because I'm one of those weird people that find a roosters crow charming. My girlfriend gave me a young mutt she had and he turned out to be a beauty that protects those girls diligently! He fluffs his feathers at me from time to time but hasn't struck out. I bought non-broody type chicks (white leghorns).... Wouldn't ya know one of those girls went broody at 6 months and now I have 7 new babies in my flock Next spring I plan to get a few new breeds and NONE of this was in my original plan but boy am I loving every second of it.....I also never imagined that I would feel the affection for these "laying machines" that I do. Good luck with your choice

 

[ninabeast]

You could always buy sexed pullets. It's not a guarantee (I bought 12 and one was a roo), but it will definitely decrease the odds of ending up with more roos than you can provide a home for.

 

[angelbabyamy]

I have bought over about 75 chicks from our feed store and co-op. This year I bought 15 EE chicks and 1 was a rooster. They rarely sell straight run except for the banties. That was the first time I got a rooster. I haven't had a problem with it.

 

[redheadfarmer]

I vote plan C!

 

[darin367]

i've had 5 or 6 roos, raised em all from chicks.. never had a problem, wife has never had a problem, my 3 yr. old son and 7 yr. old daughter have never had trouble, in fact it's all we can do to keep the kids out of the coop/run, they love it...... anyway, it's been our experience that the flock is happier with a roo, our flock of 13 hens has 2 roos.... also it's WAY more fun managing a flock with a roo.. you get to decide when, how many eggs to hatch.. just alot more fun.... don't worry about what ifs so much... get a roo, enjoy him and cross any bridges you have to cross when the time comes.....

 

[Judy]

Sexed chicks will let you have the breeds you want and should give you few roos. My bet is you will like having a roo or two. As for the crowing waking hubby on Saturday morning, it's been years since my roos disturbed my sleep. I'm much too used to them. Even when they get into crowing contests with the neighbors' roos. Honestly, a barking dog is MUCH more annoying. IMO, obviously.

You could get sex links and avoid a roo, but you will regret not having that variety of breeds. Kind of like building too small a coop or run -- you just end up doing it over.

 

[Chickenwhispere]

This was exactly like my plan. I planned on getting sexed welsummers, and raising them from chicks. I did not what anything to do with roosters, I've heard horrible stories about "mean" roosters, and roosters that are bad to the hens. But all that changed when I went to my county fair, and saw the cutest little chickens, and grabbed 9 and took them home with me! (they were all straight run.) Turns out I got lucky, 6 of the 9 chickens are pullets, and 3 are cocks. I love my roosters they are soooo sweet. And my girls, are lovely. The roosters crow in the morning, and I like the crowing. But I house my roosters and hens separately. (3 roos in one coop, 6 hens in another coop.) My plan B has worked out great for me!