How Many Roosters ...

Can be in one coop ? Our peeps seem to be mostly roosters. Out of 5 at least 3 are anyway . They are bantams and already starting to fight with each other.

They are now almost 9 wk.s old. Also they are all from the same hen. Should we seperate them ?

Still don't know what ducks are, but they sure are pretty. They are black with green matalic glow in wings and tail from neck down with dark grey feet and beaks.Long slim necks and heads . Breast are white patch and brown speckled.I have looked at many ducks on net and they seem to be drake mallard mix.

since they grew up together, they should be allright. you could start looking for homes for one or two... i have several roos in my bantam pen, and there is no trouble. just the occasional fight, like puppies would...

Thanks Tamara for reply . And for being an independant thinker.

We won't have to worry about anyone disputing your advice,haha.

This means I can keep them all I hope .So far we are sure 3 out of the 5 are roos. I have been ill so sorry for not saying 'HAPPY BIRTHDY'!Belated that is until now.

ah, thanks for the birthday wish, still feels like my birthday, i get younger every year!

someone will come along and dispute me LOL

can you get some more to go with them? 5 chickens is just not enough for someone not under a city ordinance!

tf

We are going to get 5 more hens soon. I don't know where yet because I think most stop selling biddies around here . But soon as e get the other pen done .

What would be a good medium size chicken to mate with bantams ?

One of these is black and he is real friendly.

Ducks are a little shy ,not too friendly .They will come up and eat out of our hand but don't want us to touch them .They have a mean streak in them too, haha, they try to bite us to let us know who is boss, but they don't hurt even when they try to rip off a finger they don't have the strength yet.

funny ducks!

bantams like any hens, you need to get soemthing that likes the bantams LOL i may pair my sexlink with one. and i have some barred rock pullets... those are the only meduium sized i have...

dispute dispute
kidding
We have several bantams roos as well. So far all is well except the occational fight. I don't think we will keep them all though.
We got lucky with our Blue Cochins, we got one roo and 3 hens. Birchins, we got 2 roos and 3 hens. Sebrights, we got 3 roos and 2 hens and Silkies we have no clue yet, none are crowing so far and I can't tell what they are.

Over in this corner, we have out of the 21 hatchlings, it looks like maybe 5 roos and 16 hens. One of the roos is crowing (at least he is trying). Haven't seen the others try yet. If I keep any of these, it will be that one and possibly 1 other. I am still hoping the roos that Ideal sent me with the keets will turn out to be BOs, although we had trouble with Tawny being the rooster from h**l. I am thinking that this was just a fluke and most BOs are gentle. Since the little roos are only 6 weeks old now, we still can't tell what they are. They have the coloring of BOs, but don't know for sure.

GG

The rooster from H**l is what I am worried about. When i get them all I will have 155 straight run. 95 crested and 60 surprise. My luck I will have 150 roo's. I will be visiting TF with roo's in hand. Just kidding.

I usually figure on a straight run, you get about 60% roosters, 40% hens. So, at that, it would be 80 roos, 70 hens.

GG

IF that is correct then that wouldnt be to bad. 40 dinners for my chicken plucker friend and a few less for me. i will want to keep a few good one to breed with. Now that will be the kicker, which ones to keep. Maybe I will have you guys decide for me :)

well, any really NICE roos can come this way.... we just need some blood tests and health papers,... and i could pick them up when we come fishin!

you know you can't eat those bantam roos, just find pet homes for them!

tf

no i didnt, dang what to do with them now.

Tamara glad ou brought up the testing of them . What type of test do they need and where do yu get it ?

Also what type of shots or whaever do they need ? I have them on food scraps and non medicated feed 'Dumor duck and chic feed'.

Smedge, are cochins hardy birds? I know some I've seen are pretty .

Thanks for the help yall .We ae trying to get pen oraganized and make it bigger .I am having to also spend lots of time learning how to fight this new illness, so much time is spent on another forum.

Guess everything has a silver lining, because I have lost 15 lb.s in last several wks.only have about 10 more to lose . Diets are easy with the word becomes die with a t on the end of it!haha.

I guess it doesn't matter what kind of ducks we have anymore, they will remain mystery ducks.I have looked at hundreds of pictures on the web and some come close but none really match.

Thanks for replys and will be back later .

what you have there is your own unique cross breed. if they h ave babies, make up a breed name and sell them LOL

for Texas you nee dpullorum/typhoid and Avain Influenza. you need to check with your state.

our state university system has a program where they send qualified and properly attired personnel out to your place of residence, at your request and conveneince, to draw blood and test on site, then give you signed health papers needed for showing, selling, etc. to go across state line i would need additional papers for the specific bird, but what i have is for my entire flock, which are listed on my papers. i get this done twice a year, as they need to be four months old...

so, check with your state. start with a university or your state ag dept, research labs, or animal health...

tf

Do they test each bird or just a random few. I will check into it when they are a little bit older. Thanks

depends on your state... mine started with ALL, and inquired where they originated... then they just test new ones when they come out.

likely if you have a LOT [which you do], they would inquire where they came from, and being that yours came from the same place, and TX has the highest standards for breeding farms and hatcheries, they may only test most hens and a few roos...

tf

Very good. I will tell you this, these babies look healthy, when i got them from reich OMG they were all half dead or dead, and just not lively like these guys are. Ideal will be my place to buy from.

Glad you mentioned the testing and shots . I will call the feed store and see what they say we need to do in this county.

by law you don't HAVE to do anything. it is just responsible and wise, and is needed to legally transport, ship, or sell hatching eggs, or sell in a public venue. i am speaking for my own state, of course...

if your feed store knows, they are smarter than most LOL

Another place to ask is your county extension service. Most of them are able to answer your questions as to what is needed to sell in your area.

GG

yeah, how come i didnt' think of that....

TF, I have absolutely no idea, but sometimes us super smart people can get brain-dead for a moment or two. LOL

GG

But my husband IS the county extension agent and he won't tell me--although he said the people at work are asking if I have extra pullets!

gee, seems our county agent is about ready to retire. and he knows NOTHING about chickens, referred me to Texas A&M in College Station...

Fortunately, our extension agents are affiliated with UofM, so that is where I would have to check. You could probably go online to your specific state and check, but I wouldn't know what heading to look under. Sorry.

GG

Hey Catscan, reading this thread for a different reason; however, found this for my sis, may help you???

http://ucanr.org/findinformation.cfm?findinfosub=1

http://cahfs.ucdavis.edu/

Thanks! I'll read it at work tomorrow:0)