three questions : roosters? Vaccinations? Eggs?

[CristHill]

Hi
New here and new to chickens
Question 1:
We got 4 straight runs from tractor supply and two ended up being rooster
We rounded out the group with 4 more pullets so we have 6 hens and 2 roosters.
What’s the best way to keep the roosters but not get all your eggs fertilized- I’m planning on separating the two of them and putting them with my ducks… good plan?

Question two
Got all our chickens from tractor supply. Do we need to vaccinate our chickens ? If yes, with what?

Question three:
No eggs yet. Got chickens as chicks in June…. Are we getting close?

Thanks!
Stephanie

 

[nuthatched]

If you don't want fertilized eggs, get rid of your roosters, you don't need them for anything else and you don't have enough hens for just one.
There's no difference between fertilized eggs and unfertilized eggs, just don't incubate and you'll never have chicks.

Not great to mix ducks and chickens, they can abuse each other, ducks will drip water everywhere which is bad fir chickens and drakes can hurt chickens if he attempts to mate.

It's too late to vaccinate them, that is done by the hatchery within hours of hatch. If you feel the need for vaccination, you'll have to order them.
Most vaccines don't cover all strains of viruses or can be canceled out my improper care.

You'll see eggs come spring.

 

[TooCheep]

Hello @CristHill /Stephanie. Welcome to BYC!

1- I don't have duck experience, so I'll let someone else comment.

2- The main thing you need to be concerned with since you already have the chicks is protection from coccidiosis. It is a protozoa in the soil that they can pick up and can cause serious intestinal issues. Older chickens have had time to grow resistance. You can either use medicated grower feed or expose them to small clumps of grass/soil before you move them outside. I do the latter and did run into the telltale bloody poo once and had to use medicine to handle it.

3- Eggs are dependent on location (due to amount of daylight), chicken breed and individual variation. 5 months is a generalization to start egg laying, but it definitely varies.

PS: For many questions, it is helpful to know your location/climate. Please help us to help you by putting your general location in your profile.

 

[Folly's place]

All good advice so far, except that it's too late to bother feeding the medicated (with amprolium) chick starter, as it needs to be fed before, during, and two or three weeks after the chicks are exposed to your ground.
Some places have dirt including a lot of coccidia, other places, not. The point is to expose chicks to small numbers of this parasite so they have time to develop resistance and don't get sick. If they are fine and have been exposed to your environment for weeks, probably it's fine.
One very wet spring we had coccidiosis (the diarrhea with blood) in a couple of chicks and treated them all with Corid, everyone recovered. Since that spring we are back to using the medicated chick starter to avoid a repeat episode.
Mary

 

[Yardmom]

Young birds don't usually wait for spring to lay. Sometimes the short days might delay laying some. You could be getting close to your first egg. You will notice combs getting brighter and larger before they lay.
Why do you not want fertilized eggs?
If the fertilization is not a problem, It will depend on the personalities of your boys to see if both stay with your girls. Many breeders keep only a couple hens per rooster without problems.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, Welcome to the Forum! Glad you are here?

Question 1:
We got 4 straight runs from tractor supply and two ended up being rooster
We rounded out the group with 4 more pullets so we have 6 hens and 2 roosters.
What’s the best way to keep the roosters but not get all your eggs fertilized- I’m planning on separating the two of them and putting them with my ducks… good plan?

First I'll ask "What are your goals for the roosters?" This is just for you to think about, I don't really need to know. The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is personal preference, not a need. Nothing wrong with personal preferences, I have some of my own. But those are a want, not a need.

People will tell you all kinds of things about roosters. Some people would not have a flock without a rooster, even if they don't want fertile eggs. Others are extremely happy to not have a rooster. Personal preferences.

If you have a rooster, he may become human aggressive. In spite of what some people will lead you to believe, not all roosters become human aggressive, but some certainly do. A chicken can cut a frog into bite sized pieces with its beak. It can drill a hole into another chicken's skull, a favorite way of killing them. They can take your or your kid's eye out with a beak. Their claws can cut and tear flesh. Eventually a rooster will grow spurts, another sharp weapon. I'll repeat myself, not all roosters become human aggressive. Many of us keep roosters without those issues, but some roosters do become human aggressive.

A rooster will mate with a hen unless he is always physically separated from her. That is nature and instinct, you are not going to change that. If you do not want fertile eggs you cannot house them together. Sometimes when they mate, feathers can come out or break off. That's not a problem unless the hen loses enough feathers that she develops a bare spot where his claws or eventually spurs can cut her. That can be caused by the rooster's technique or by a flaw in the hen's feathers. This does not always happen. When it does it is usually not as bad as it looks. But it is a risk.

Sometimes the girls don't willingly submit to a boy. They resist and the boy forces them. It can be violent. With any violence it is possible injury could occur. This is usually involved with immature cockerels with immature pullets or even with mature hens. When the cockerels grow into roosters they usually mature enough that they can sway the girls with their personality and magnificence and do not have to resort to violence. But some boys never mature. I've never had a pullet or hen injured from this but some people have.

All of that to say, you are not guaranteed to have any of these issues with any number of boys. But the more you have to more likely you are to have some of these issues. With one it is possible you will have some of these issues. With more than one the odds go way up. My general suggestion is to keep as few boys as you can and still meet your goals. With most of us that perfect number is going to be zero or one, but many people keep more than one.

Now to your specific question, is separating them a good idea? I strongly suggest that you have the ability to separate them on a moment's notice. If you need to, you may need to quickly. So have a place prepared.

Male ducks have a corkscrew penis so they can mate while in the water. If they mate with a chicken they can do damage. Lots of people keeps ducks and chickens together without a problem but some people do have this problem. Will your drakes try to mate with your cockerels or roosters? Highly unlikely but not impossible. I personally would not be concerned about this since you are only talking about your boys.

Of more concern is that ducks need water and often create a wet mess. Chickens don't need that. If your space is somewhat tight this could be a real issue. If you have a lot of room then probably not.

Question two
Got all our chickens from tractor supply. Do we need to vaccinate our chickens ? If yes, with what?

What diseases are prevalent where you are? I hatch my own and do not vaccinate. I do not have any issues I can't easily manage. Others have serious problems. Since you mentioned Tractor Supply I'll assume you are in the US. Call your county extension office and chat with them about what chicken diseases are common in your area. With just a little luck they will put you in contact with a chicken expert, probably a professor at your state Land Grant University, so you can discuss this with someone that has local knowledge. That's what I did and decided I did not need to vaccinate for anything.

Question three:
No eggs yet. Got chickens as chicks in June…. Are we getting close?

They will lay when they lay. The earliest I've had a pullet start has been 16 weeks. The latest I've waited without giving up and eating them is 9 months. There are a lot of different factors involved beyond just differences in individual chickens. So good luck on getting eggs soon and once again,

 

[FrostRanger]

With 6 pullets I'd keep no more than 1 boy and if you don't want fertilized eggs - not that they change the edibility of eggs at all - I'd get rid of both boys. Keeping ducks with chickens is a gamble and even if you don't have a drake there's no guaranteed that they'll all get along. As for vaccines, strictly speaking, you don't HAVE to vaccinate them for anything. It's too late to vaccinate for merak's and probably coccidiosis (well, at their age it's probably pointless to vaccinate them for coccidiosis anyways ). There are certainly other diseases you can vaccinate them for, but that depends on if there's some specific disease that's a problem in your area, otherwise it's just personal choice

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It takes 21 days of careful incubation, either under a dedicated broody hen or in an incubator, to hatch a a fertilized egg into a chick. If you collect your eggs daily, you will probably never know if your eggs are fertilized or not.

Having said that, do you need two roosters with six hens if you don't plan to hatch eggs? No, you don't need a rooster at all. . Do you need two roosters if you DO plan to hatch? Probably not. Roosters are highly competitive and their attempts to dominate can become distressingly violent. One rooster will be plenty. What to do with the extra? Best to try to rehome him if you can't butcher and eat him. If you do rehome him, don't ask too many questions about what might happen to him.