Young white leghorn cross hens and laying

[TX Chick]

Hello,

These are my first chickens so I know next to nothing. My friend just gave me a few white leghorn cross hens last night. She said that she will bring me a few more in a few days and one at least should be a rooster. She said they should start laying by the end of July. I have a few nest boxes up high and was wondering, if I make one that is close to the ground and just left what they lay in the low one, would they hatch the ones I left? I know it is up in the air whether they will even lay in it, but if they do, I would like them to hatch a few. I've read white leghorns are not real broody so if I leave them some eggs, will they just let them rot?

 

[brahmabreeder]

Very rarely do leghorns go broody. Most likely they won't hatch any. On the other hand you said they are cross bred. Do you know with what? That other breed might make them go broody.

 

[TX Chick]

I don't know what they are lol! They were some colored easter chicks my friend had picked up this year. I think tractor supply had them listed as RIRs or something, but they weren't. So... who knows? My friend thought they were a cross, I couldn't tell whether or not they were.

 

[Pyxis]

Well, that's not good. They're probably just regular leghorns or some production cross, so I think the chances of broodiness are slim. And I say that's bad because:

a) coloring the chicks is horrible and is actually illegal, I think, and
b) hatcheries usually color the extra male chicks they have, so they can sell them.


So...you may not only have one rooster, you may have all or almost all roosters...

Actually looking at your picture if all those birds are the same age and the same breed, the two closest to the camera are probably both roos.

Oh, and !

Edited to add: I remember where I heard this now. I had read a page about a rescue that took in 49 dyed chicks that were being sold illegally in a pet store, and 48 of them ended up being roosters. I'm having a hard time finding the article though.

 

[TX Chick]

Oh bummer! I didn't hear any crowing this morning so when should I hear that? Maybe they are being silent because they are new here? What in the world am I going to do with these roos, if they are roos?

 

[Pyxis]

I'm just thinking they are because comparing them to the one behind them, they have a ton more comb and wattles, the comb is super red, and they have HUGE legs compared to her. They're much bigger than her in general, actually. Plus I think the closest one is getting in the curving over rooster tail. But, maybe if you had more pictures we could tell for sure?

If they are roos, they may not crow for a while. I never heard a peep out of my two until they were five or six months old, and then they started going off. If you only have two roos, it's not bad as long as you have enough hens for them. Otherwise, you could try rehoming them, or eat them if that kind of thing is okay with you.

 

[TX Chick]

So by the end of August I should hear a crow... You are right I kinda thought the same thing since they look so much bigger than the other. I don't know what the other 2 or 3 look like but the small one definitely fit the hen pictures I saw. I'll try to get some more pics tonight.

I don't mind eating them, I just mind killing them! Maybe the husband will do it for me? LOL! If I turn up with too many roos I'll ask the husband what he wants to do. Of my own devices, I'd rehome it if I could.