What to do if you have a baby Rooster with lots of baby hens?

[tripletfeb]

The chicken breeder is the one who looked at the chick.

I hope you realize that unless you have sex linked chicks, none are guaranteed to be a male or female. Meaning, just because someone says they are pullets, doesn't mean they are. Even professionals from hatcheries get the sex wrong

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I hope you realize that unless you have sex linked chicks, none are guaranteed to be a male or female. Meaning, just because someone says they are pullets, doesn't mean they are. Even professionals from hatcheries get the sex wrong

Exactly. That's why even hatcheries guarantee 80-90% pullets when you order them, because some decide to try and trick you when you're looking.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Or is it a "blue Plymouth rock" like some are calling what others call Sapphire gems. Those are blue sex links and the headspot would indicate a male.

 

[fluffycrow]

Excellent points made by the previous people. You won't ever NEED to separate him (if it's even a male) because you can collect the eggs, and if your chicken goes broody, just remove them so they won't hatch. In addition, depending on your chickens breed it's rare to go broody in the first place. Now, as others have said, at this young of an age, its really hard to tell, so don't assume it's a male. You might end up with a rooster from a chick you thought was female, or you might get more than one rooster, which honestly is the most realistic scenario

 

[CluckenMomma]

Thank you everybody for all of your great information and input!! We'll see in a couple weeks if the chick is a cockerel or pullet.

 

[tripletfeb]

Thank you everybody for all of your great information and input!! We'll see in a couple weeks if the chick is a cockerel or pullet.

Feel free to start another thread in a few weeks to see if you have a cockerel or pullet

 

[Mrs. K]

However, there IS a good chance that you do have a cockerel or 2-4 in your chicks, and having a plan what to do with them, is a good thing to develop, especially if where you are cannot have roosters.

A lot of cockerel chicks are darling, friendly and confident. Latter that can become aggressive to other birds or to humans. People without a lot of experience, and with small children I strongly recommend not keeping the cockerels. At about 12 weeks - give or take- is when you need to be very aware of your cockerels behavior.

So having a plan if the cockerels do not work out, is a GOOD idea. A lot of them do not.

Mrs K