Soooo…..this happened!
We talked about it from time to time, but we never planned to have a rooster. We’ve gotten all our chickens so far from a local feed store, and they are always supposed to be hens. However, they specifically do not guarantee the sexing of the chicks (I don’t know how they do the quantity they do of day-old chicks anyway!), but out of 32 birds we’ve bought from them, this is the first time we accidentally ended up with a rooster.
There are pros and cons to having a rooster, which I’ll get to in a bit. First, a little bit of the story. I had started to get suspicious of this bird a few weeks ago. She seemed so much bigger than most of the others, and she’s always picking on everyone else, like she wants to be the boss. However, they are at the age where they are establishing their “pecking order” anyway, so I didn’t think too much of it. I started to research how to tell the difference between a pullet (young hen) and a cockerel (young rooster), but most places said they won’t start crowing or showing other differences until at least 16 weeks of age. This crew is 10 weeks old now. The red of his comb is a clue as well. If you look at some of the young hens in the video or photo as well, you’d see that theirs are pale. On hens, the comb typically doesn’t turn red until they are close to laying age, which is quite a few weeks away for this group (at least 6 or more).
Hubby and I were sitting on the deck on a warm evening a couple weeks ago when we first heard what sounded like a rooster crowing! We looked at each other and laughed, and then we heard it again! Since we were not near the coop, we really had no way of knowing who had done it, though I felt like I knew!
As the days went on, we were hearing it more and more, and then we saw her/him in action. I’d been wanting to pick a name for this one because his coloring is distinct anyway, so while we still felt unsure, I started calling him Caitlyn. I had also read in my research that on occasion, hens do crow, but I’ve since found out that it’s not a true crow, but more like a half crow. You heard it, I’m pretty sure that’s a full-on crow!
The Pros and Cons of Having a Rooster
The main reason we never got a rooster is because roosters can often be aggressive and mean, to everyone, including humans. We see roosters being given away all the time in the Facebook groups we are in for chicken keeping. They also can be rough on the hens during mating, from what I understand. But I also read that as long as you have plenty of hens for them to mate with, that may not be an issue either.
Now, we have one less possible egg layer, and if you’ve been reading our posts, you know how that’s been going lately! We need all the egg layers we can get to keep up with sales!
Another con for some people could be the crowing. Those that live in more urban areas have neighbors to worry about, or maybe you’re a light sleeper like me and don’t want that early morning awakening. We have no close neighbors, and our coop is far enough away from the house that we don’t hear them from our bedroom. The first morning I was walking Luke on our trails and we heard him crowing, I smiled. That crow really made me feel even more that I live on a farm!
So, the crowing for me is a pro! The other pros are that the rooster will keep the flock closer together and protect them. While we have the guinea hens for protection and alerts, I feel like you can never have too much. On the other hand, how the male guineas will get along with a rooster also remains to be seen. It may keep the guineas from picking on the chickens, as the rooster might protect them, but I wouldn’t want things to get ugly.
A rooster means we will have fertilized eggs and we should no longer have to buy new chicks in the spring, which would save some money. Plus, we can let the ladies hatch and raise them, so no cage inside the house! Mama will keep them warm and safe. A lot of our hens have been what they call “broody” lately; meaning they want to sit on eggs. Our older girls especially have been spending time sitting in the nesting boxes with nothing to hatch. They stop laying eggs when they’re doing that, which could be another reason for our recent egg shortage. It can especially be a good job for the older hens who are laying less anyway, and want something to do. Once they get that out of their system, they would go back to laying!
All things considered, we’re open to having a rooster now, and we’re willing to give it a try! We also kind of feel like maybe this happened for a reason, and it could end up being a good thing. We will try to spend as much time with him as we can, to hopefully gain his trust and make him more friendly to us (right now he seems a bit afraid of us). After all, ever since getting our birds, it’s been a learning curve so this will be yet another. I hope not to become one of the many on Facebook looking to re-home any of our birds for any reason, and we like to commit to things and do not give up easily.
We’re actually kind of excited about seeing where this goes now, and I still smile every time I hear him crow. Now we must give him a male name, because I don’t think there’s any doubt at this point that we’re on another new farm adventure. We’ll be sure to keep you posted on how it goes!
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I’m so glad that you are committed to keeping him! The last few times that we visited the local animal shelter, we heard crowing no matter what time we visited. Someone had mistakenly gotten a rooster that they couldn’t keep. I’m glad that you have the opportunity to keep him. Caitlyn has to go, perhaps he’s a Carmine or a Carruso?
He has ended up being a “Charlie” but your name suggestions are far more sophisticated! It’s looking like Charlie might fit him better though, he’s a bit of a klutz and sophistication might not suit him. LOL
I am pleased we can keep him, and just hope all goes well so that continues. ♥
Awe sounds to me like it’s definitely a happy accident. He is gorgeous!!
xoxo,
Bell Fur Zoo Mama
He is, isn’t he? We will certainly make the best of it!
Cool!!!! We love you, Caitlyn 😉 We have a new rooster in our area – he crows all afternoon, every afternoon. But, I kind of like that sound too! We don’t hear him in the morning. I don’t know his name – but perhaps I’ll start calling him Caitlyn!
I always thought roosters only crowed in the morning, but apparently that’s not the case!
I have always wanted chickens, and live vicariously through people like you who have them. I also learn about them from people like you as well. I love how you’ve thought all this through in having a rooster, and have decided to keep him. I think it’s a good decision, and I’m sure he’ll make sure you don’t regret it. 🙂
Thank you. I’m so happy that you enjoy our stories! ♥
Sounds like you were meant to have a rooster. He is very handsome, I like his markings.
Wow! What a pretty cool surprise!! I understand the cons could make you nervous, but here is hoping it will all go well. Maybe having the Guineas will help, and you keep trying to gain his trust! He is really just quite beautiful! Handsome, sorry! And funny but as another person commented, someone down the road from us has a rooster-and I only ever hear him in the afternoon on the weekends when we are home. Never hear him in the morning. And maybe it’s the distance but I don’t think they are that far away and he is never too loud, it never bothers me. In fact, I always laugh and say, what are you doing crowing in the middle of the afternoon?? Oh, he’s on my time schedule, ha ha! Seriously hope it turns out fine, enjoy!! Caid? Cary?
Apparently roosters don’t only crow in the morning, which was news to me!!
That is so very cool and he does need a Royal Kingly name.
Well, it’s not too royal or kingly now, but it seems fitting. 🙂
He’s a very handsome guy. And now you have your very own rooster alarm clock!
Better than some obnoxious buzzing noise, right?
oh my he IS a handsome rooster!!! Maybe you could call him Carl?
He is one handsome dude! Guess he was meant to be and thank goodness your neighbors aren’t close to your home…….so you have smooth sailing!
Thank you!!
I guess if Bruce Jenner can become a Caitlyn then I guess your “hen” can become a rooster too! LOL! He is soooo handsome!
That’s right!! It works both ways, right? LOL
I love roosters. They have so much character (but yes, they can be aggressive). One of our old neighbor’s roosters used to chase us (even though he and the girls were in our yard). Glad you’re enjoying the crowing. Our new neighbors have no roosters, so I think that’s probably a good thing.
I can’t imagine Alex would enjoy being woken up that early. LOL
Fingers crossed our rooster turns out to be a nice one, I don’t like the thought of being chased!
Oops, looks like Caitlyn is really a Charlie. Happens in the best of flocks. In the city, roosters become crockpot fodder. Neighbors get very testy about being woken up extra early. When my daughter was raising chickens, they returned them to the breeder who always replaced them with a female. Good luck with your little guy; paws crossed he musters up nicely to his role as a rooster.
I’ve found many city people don’t care for the sound of any birds! LOL
That is a nice policy of the breeder where you daughter got her chickens.
PS….your new name for Caitlyn just might be the one that sticks!
Loved the video and I knew you had a rooster because I’ve heard many a rooster crow over the years. What a surprise.
I think a new name would be in order though. I’m just saying.
Thank you for joining the Happy Tuesday Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Happy Tuesday. ♥
He has been duly re-named. 🙂 Will reveal the new name this week.
A very handsome guy! I’m looking forward to following how life with a rooster unfolds!!
Hopefully he gives us some good stories to tell! 🙂
We think a rooster is a great addition. Hope he works out. The other day a friend on FB posted about how mad they were as a guinea hen ended up on their farm with their chickens and they don’t want one. We thought of you and your guinea hens. I guess they are not for everyone! I guess you will be up earlier now with the new feathered alarm clock!
Best alarm clock ever I think! 🙂 Guinea hens are certainly not for everyone, but I hope your FB friend can adjust to that one, or find another good home for it!
And a handsome rooster he is, too! I love his coloring! I don’t mind crowing too much. One of our neighbors up the road has (or had) a rooster, but I haven’t heard it lately so I don’t know what happened there.
He’s been pretty quiet today, and I miss his crowing! I think he’s just a little stressed since we’ve started full integration with the rest of the flock.
Hi buddy you are very handsome and stunning. A very cool surprise!! I don’t mind roosters.
I’m glad to hear that, since I trust your judgement! 🙂
What a handsome boy you are, Caitlyn! Paw are crossed that everything works out just fine.
Thank you – we have high hopes it will go well!
A handsome rooster, you are! I suppose Caitlyn didn’t become Bruce 😉
When I found Bear on the street, I had no idea how to tell the gender. I named him Lily. In my defense, the vet didn’t realize he wasn’t a girl until she took him to the back and they started to shave his belly for an ultrasound (the vet thought his belly was distended and he might be pregnant). Oops.
No, I guess we would have had it backwards there!
Oh gosh, I love that story about Bear! We took in a stray cat once, mostly because we thought she was pregnant. Yup, turned out she was a male! It worked out for the best for him though, he turned out to be kind of sickly and we only had him for a year before he passed. But we’re glad he was as comfortable as possible for that year. ♥