Surprise rooster?

[simplyme122983]

We are new 'chicken tenders' and bought 10 babies from TSC in April 2021. We were told they were all pullets: 1 Olive Egger, 2 Light Brahma's, 3 Isa Browns, 2 Barnevelders, 1 Rhode Island Red and 1 Golden Laced Wyandotte. Now that they are about 3 months old, 1 of our Brahmas is quite a bit larger than the rest, even larger than the other brahma that is the same age. It also has a much more developed comb and waddle, along with what appears to be saddle feathers . I will attach some pictures as well. Hoping to get some other opinions on whether or not it is a rooster?



Also, if it is a rooster... Not sure if I should keep it? Will it hurt my other chickens? It is not a super aggressive bird, will eat from our hands and allows us to handle it but does sometimes peck at the others. However, several of them get a little peckish sometimes when settling in for the night Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[nuthatched]

It's a cockerel, it won't necessarily hurt your hens but it may take him awhile to figure out the subtleties of romance.
However, I see he's on your arm, that may or may not be a good thing. Familiarity breeds contempt.

 

[pony007]

Yep, that's a cockerel alright. Keeping him is completely up to you and your goals for the flock. If you do not want to raise more chicks or don't have room in the coop for more then you should rehome him. Another thing to consider, will the crowing bother you or your neighbors? If noise is a potential problem rehome for sure.

Also he may not be aggressive towards you now, but that could change when the testosterone kicks in and he starting thinking about the ladies. He may see you as competition and get aggressive when you handle your girls, or he might not. You could end up being lucky and have a nice boy. Brahma roosters are known for being pretty chill as far as roosters go, so anything is possible.

As far as hurting your other chickens, well, chicken breeding is kind of a rough ugly business. He will likely force his way on the girls if they are not willing participants. With only 9 hens, you could run into over-mating, which would result in some missing back feathers on your pullets. Or he could be a complete gentleman and end up taking good care of his ladies. Its really depends on the cockerel.

So if you do want a Rooster, I'd play the wait and see game. If he starts showing aggressive tendencies then think about finding him a new home. If he stays nice, then you've lucked out

Hope this was helpful. Keep in mind that I'm reletivly new at chickens as well, this is just what i've gathered from my experiences so far

 

[JustBabyMargo]

I think he’s probably a boy as well because of those shiny saddle feathers and giant red comb and wattles!

 

[simplyme122983]

Yep, that's a cockerel alright. Keeping him is completely up to you and your goals for the flock. If you do not want to raise more chicks or don't have room in the coop for more then you should rehome him. Another thing to consider, will the crowing bother you or your neighbors? If noise is a potential problem rehome for sure.

Also he may not be aggressive towards you now, but that could change when the testosterone kicks in and he starting thinking about the ladies. He may see you as competition and get aggressive when you handle your girls, or he might not. You could end up being lucky and have a nice boy. Brahma roosters are known for being pretty chill as far as roosters go, so anything is possible.

As far as hurting your other chickens, well, chicken breeding is kind of a rough ugly business. He will likely force his way on the girls if they are not willing participants. With only 9 hens, you could run into over-mating, which would result in some missing back feathers on your pullets. Or he could be a complete gentleman and end up taking good care of his ladies. Its really depends on the cockerel.

So if you do want a Rooster, I'd play the wait and see game. If he starts showing aggressive tendencies then think about finding him a new home. If he stays nice, then you've lucked out

Hope this was helpful. Keep in mind that I'm reletivly new at chickens as well, this is just what i've gathered from my experiences so far

Yeah, we'll wait a little longer to see what happens. I just don't wanna re-home him to someone who will eat him

 

[simplyme122983]

It's a cockerel, it won't necessarily hurt your hens but it may take him awhile to figure out the subtleties of romance.
However, I see he's on your arm, that may or may not be a good thing. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Interesting, thank you! He is huge already and I have been hoping we can remain friends. We will wait it out a bit and see. Any suggestions on how to rehome a rooster so he doesn't end up on a dinner plate?

 

[simplyme122983]

Yep, that's a cockerel alright. Keeping him is completely up to you and your goals for the flock. If you do not want to raise more chicks or don't have room in the coop for more then you should rehome him. Another thing to consider, will the crowing bother you or your neighbors? If noise is a potential problem rehome for sure.

Also he may not be aggressive towards you now, but that could change when the testosterone kicks in and he starting thinking about the ladies. He may see you as competition and get aggressive when you handle your girls, or he might not. You could end up being lucky and have a nice boy. Brahma roosters are known for being pretty chill as far as roosters go, so anything is possible.

As far as hurting your other chickens, well, chicken breeding is kind of a rough ugly business. He will likely force his way on the girls if they are not willing participants. With only 9 hens, you could run into over-mating, which would result in some missing back feathers on your pullets. Or he could be a complete gentleman and end up taking good care of his ladies. Its really depends on the cockerel.

So if you do want a Rooster, I'd play the wait and see game. If he starts showing aggressive tendencies then think about finding him a new home. If he stays nice, then you've lucked out

Hope this was helpful. Keep in mind that I'm reletivly new at chickens as well, this is just what i've gathered from my experiences so far

Thanks! I do NOT want more chickens haha - no room and trying to figure out how to manage these ones haha! But I have grown attached to all of them, even this big guy... Probably will re-home him but hoping to find someone that won't put him in a stew

 

[3KillerBs]

I had a Light Brahma rooster who lived up to the breed's reputation for mild-mannered roosters. Not all do.

Marion was a BIG boy -- a good 2 feet tall and quite impressive up close despite being a hatchery bird. The Brahma girls backs were fine, but the others lost a lot of feathers on their backs since their feathers weren't so thick to start with.

 

[simplyme122983]

I had a Light Brahma rooster who lived up to the breed's reputation for mild-mannered roosters. Not all do.

Marion was a BIG boy -- a good 2 feet tall and quite impressive up close despite being a hatchery bird. The Brahma girls backs were fine, but the others lost a lot of feathers on their backs since their feathers weren't so thick to start with.

Awe, I am excited for how big he will be - he's already quite a big guy and only 3 most old BUT also kind of worried for my daughter, who is little, just in case he isn't a giant teddy bear. Thanks!

 

[3KillerBs]

Awe, I am excited for how big he will be - he's already quite a big guy and only 3 most old BUT also kind of worried for my daughter, who is little, just in case he isn't a giant teddy bear. Thanks!

It would have been quite worrisome if he'd been aggressive given his size. I had a young child at the time.