Hey folks, Not sure if this post belongs on this forum but here is story in an eggshell. Rooster shows up a few weeks ago and starts making noise at 4:30 every AM. I decide he needs a friend so I go to a neighbor who has lots of really truly free range chickens and ask him for a lady chick. He gathers one up for me. Soon she is putting eggs in a nest she has created in the back yard(back yard is about 30 acres of woods) After about a dozen eggs appear I eat a couple. Very good! Next thing I know she is sitting on the nest. Three weeks later and there are 6 chicks following her around. Here is my problem! One looks like her mom and acts more demure than the others. I don't think I can stand SIX roosters going off at 4 - 5 every morning. What does one do, drop them off around the area(just kidding),eat them(not sure i could), sell my place w/o telling about the roosters? Please rescue me with some solid advice. Thanks so very, very much!
Well, wait a little and be sure first. Just because they share the coloring of dad, doesn't make them a roo. And sometimes when you "know" what they are, you don't! We showed a Buckeye pullet in an open show May 1st, she was about 12 or 13 weeks old. She was first in her class, hurray! And just the last day or so she has started to try mounting the hens . . . . . yep, looks like she's a he! So, give it some time. But in the end, if you have too many roos, rehoming is a good option. Try to find homes through Craigslist, your local 4H group or other networking ideas.
I ordered 10 bantam chicks in March and the hatchery sent me 10 "warmers" with them. They turned out to be all BR roosters. No one wanted them. I didn't think I could take them for butcher, but I ended up doing it. It really wasn't as hard as I thought, and they really taste great!
