Never again will I buy baby chicks from Wilco.
Don’t get me wrong, I like shopping at Wilco for feed and supplies, but this is the second time in 12 months I have purchased chicks from Wilco and both times I’ve gotten at least 1 rooster.
Remember poor Pablo? It was so sad to see him go. He was gorgeous show bird, not to mention a lovely pet. But we had to give him away because he was a roo. 🙁 Now it looks like we have 2 more we’ll have to find homes for now.
Our Cuckoo Maran Mario {top photo} has all the characteristics of being a rooster. He’s big, has a large comb and his glaring red wattles are starting to form. That my friends is how you can tell if your sweet, adorable 2 week old chick is going to turn out to be a rooster.
Snow White, our Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, will now have a Prince Charming. Yep, that’s what we are calling the little man bird in the second photo.
Luckily there has been no drama with our Mottled Java chicks.
We thought Espresso would have made a break for the border by now, but apparently she want’s to stay.
We decided to name one of our Araucana chicks, Anne Hathaway. Partly because she has Glam eyes and because the Handsome Husband is totally in love with her {Anne, the person, not the chicken} and I thought it would be fun to tease him.
A few of you thought Buffy the Vanpire Slayer {our Buff Orpington} might be a roo too. But I don’t think so. I think we’re safe.
And Chippy, our other Araucana is just lovely.
Her and Lucy the puggle dog are already Bff’s.
Lucy checks the brooder every time we go outside and when we take the chicks out, she likes to go up to Chippy and give her a sweet little kiss. It’s the cutest thing ever.
Chickens and dogs, who knew they could be best friends?
Life is good.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to call Chino the Handyman and see if his friend wants 2 more roosters.
~Mavis
Dawn says
OK, so I know NOTHING about keeping chickens, but I’m thinking: Why don’t you keep one of the roosters for a bit and get some more baby chicks out of the deal? Then find him a new home.
Is there something wrong with my logic?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes, roosters make noise. 🙂 My neighbors would freak out.
Jennifer says
Can you call Wilco and see if they would take them back? I would.
Mavis Butterfield says
They will not take the roos back. 🙁
Jenn says
I have read the rates are very high of being wrong when they are sexing the birds. Think of how many they are doing in a day, hundreds and hundreds would be my guess. Do you folks not keep any roosters? I know you are not in the country, I’m assuming there are issues where you are only allowed to have hens? In our last batch, we ended up with 2 roos, we were going to dispatch them but they are very sweet and mild so they are staying. So far no fighting, the one is huge the other quite small. Those are beautiful birds you have there!
Lindsi Vining says
I, too, have had issues with purchasing chicks that start out as Princess or Missy and end up Henry. I have purchased chicks three different times, twice from my local feed store. The two times from the local store I ended up with a roo. Was able to relocate them both. But recently went on vacation and my housesitter (aka Mom) called and told me I had an extra chicken in the yard. Turns out to be a wild rooster from somewhere in the neighborhood. And that little sucker fast like the road runner. For now, dispite all of our best efforts to catch to relocate him, he has stayed. His crow isn’t loud … yet.
Rachel Humphrey says
Experience chickens will go back in their coop at night if you close them in with the door closed they won’t grow until they see the lights you keep them in there until when you’re ready for them to.
Cecily says
Morning Mavis,
Yeah they could be cockerels but at 2 weeks it is difficult to tell. More telling than enlarged combs and wattles (pullets can have them too) is the shape of the feathers. Males have pointed saddle feathers while females feathers are rounded in that area. The saddle feathers start developing by 4 weeks of age. Hope you don’t have males.
Ginelle Showalter says
If they end up being roos, I will buy one from you. I really want a roo. I have 5 hens and would love to add a roo.
Jeanette Dawson says
I am brand new to owning chickens. I currently have 9, three week old chicks and am also hoping one is a Roo. I have read over and over that roosters need 8 to 10 hands or they will over mate them and cause injury. Just something to think about. I’m so excited about this new adventure and love reading chicken stories.
Yvonne Herbst says
Dawn, I have 6 chickens and am not allowed to have a rooster because I live inside a city. The crowing is too loud I guess and I bet Mavis is also not allowed to have one.
Mavis, the feed store Ususally takes roosters back and places them with folks that can ave roosters.
Desi says
Your chicks look gorgeous! Sadly that first one does look like a roo 🙁 Oh well what can you do? Our dog is friends with our chickens too, for the most part. He does like to run up to them and make them jump. Sadly we lost a chicken yesterday to a neighbor dog.
Sheila M. says
Another option….though it won’t result in the beautiful variety of chickens you own….is to buy sex links. Sex links are cross bred chickens that produce different colored chicks based on the gender. After raising a rooster until his untimely death by a predator, I wasn’t in a hurry to have another. Last spring we purchased a red sex link and two black sex link chicks. I love my chickens, but in the end it’s all about the eggs 😉
Laura says
Just don’t leave Lucy unattended with them! It looks cute, but beagles are hunters, and often what looks like motherly affection and concern turns into something else when you aren’t watching!
I don’t have chickens, but my friend got 6 chicks, and 2 were roosters. Poor roosters. Most of them end up in the stew pot.
Susie in DeLand says
Laura, I thought the same thing! Mavis sees a “kiss”, I see a “taste”. Sorry, just speaking as an experienced dog owner who knows that most of them have predatory instincts that can’t be overridden by domestication. You don’t have to be paranoid, but be careful! 🙂
Sarah says
Like anything else it depends on the dog, their training and everything. We raise and train beagles and they have never hurt a chicken or a chick and the chickens have full range of our property. Beagles don’t hunt, but they do follow the scent to let you know where the animal is. But it is not in their nature to “hunt” down an animal.
Mavis seems like a very intelligent woman, and someone who seems to know her dog quite well, while none of us do. I’m sure she is taking all the precautionary methods needed. Like any animal dogs have predatory instinct but those instincts are not species specific. If a dog is going to go after a chicken then he would a cat and a squirrel etc. Until he is taught not too. Just like dogs can’t distinguish breed specifics they can’t distinguish different species. Considering that Lucy has been raised around chickens I’m sure she knows what she is and what she isn’t allowed to do.
Lisa says
**Sigh**
It makes me frustrated to see box stores toting themselves as “experts” on things. It seems to always make life much more complicated. We have been quite lucky with our chicken hatches this year. In nearly 600 chickens we’ve only gotten back about 6 that are roos. Most of those came from one hatch of ameraucanas (we thing there was a newbie on duty that day).
Mavis Butterfield says
Well, I will be coming to the Garden Sphere in the Spring, that’s for sure. 🙂
Rochelle says
If you have two Roos they will start sparring with each other long before they crow. Don’t go by combs or wattles; some hens can have pretty impressive ones. Watch you babies behavior; that will give them away faster than anything. Oh, if you are buying straight run chicks you can expect 50% to be Roos. Maybe you’ve been beating the odds all along!
Jayne says
I would say still too early to tell yet, but boy, if I could get that Cuckoo Maran to Australia if he is a roo! Just gorgeous colouring and they are rare here.
Destini says
I was going to mention I thought one was a boy when you first posted pics but I did not want to be wrong so early on. I think you might have a boy or two in that bunch. So far I have been pretty good at guessing but I even got a rooster this year. We kept him as I don’t live in city limits and so far he has not been mean but crows all day every day from 5 am on. Good luck but I think the blue laced red Wyandotte with the thicker 3 row comb is definitely a boy. 🙁
Janica says
I second not leaving Lucy unattended with the chickens. She is a young dog and is trying to figure everything out. Once they get the taste of blood you will have some dead chickens. They will always kill once they get started. You see a lot of cute photos on Facebook of animals but, that is not the norm.
ImLin says
You can break a chicken killer…my dad did it by tying the dead chicken to the dogs collar and letting it rot iff…yes it stunk and the dog needed a good bath and a new collar after but he never killed another chicken!
Kim says
We have a Buffy too! I call her “Buffy the Egg Layer” and boy does she! Our top producer!! Love seeing all you photos!
Deb says
So my little Roxy turned out to be Big and Handsome Rocky the Barred Rock Rooster! Trying to find him a home where he will be loved and not eaten!
Susan says
My “Fern” ended up being “Vern”. I put an ad on the board at my local feed store – and NOTHING! I waited a few days and put an ad on CraigsList. I was surprised to get 3 inquiries within the first day.
I re-homed him to a farm in the next town over. He is a barred rock, too. SO sad! I felt heartsick giving him away.
Kathy R. says
I would really love to see a video of your chicks running around…I know you are busy, but I bet I’m not the only one who would enjoy seeing them.
Mavis Butterfield says
I’ll try. 🙂
Megan says
Oh I just love chippy and her expression! So cute! I hatched a couple eggs this spring and one was a roo. We’ve had one other rooster in our flock and he became dinner after repeatedly trying to attack me while I was pregnant. My hubs wasn’t having any of that! Our new roo is a bantam silkie we named B-Mo. He is super friendly and lets me hold him even. He still sings loudly every morning, but the neighbors don’t mind=). My closest neighbor said it reminds her of her childhood and she enjoys his crowing each morning. He tried his best to get down with our 16 ladies, but most of them just won’t have it. HA!
Mavis Butterfield says
That’s awesome. 🙂
Shanna Ferro says
Y’all r cracking me up!!! Glad to have found this forum. I just started a coop. It was once for my beautiful white homing pigeons. I found the all a home 90miles from me. The loft was empty for a month. I mourned giving up my beautiful pigeons (15) as I knew it was best at the time. Now I have 4 baby Silkie chicks & 3 silver wyandottes. As I de-pigeoned the coop twice one of my pigeons flew 90miles back to my loft. The second time bringing a girlfriend. One of my other pigeons. Sooo I’ve decided to keep the two ;0)))). Anyway, I googled tonight how to tell if your chicks r roosters, because I have had them 2weeks now (of course already attached) & and I see two have combs. I’m all feeaking out, because I hear about not wanting roosters. I see in this group it’s ok to have more then one. I do live outside city limits on 2acres. I just hope they get along when they get older as they do now.
My crew:
Elvis & Stormy=full grown black silkies
Lavender, Oprah, Cash, Marilyn=my baby Silkie & Wyandotte chicks….colors: Lavender/lavender/Silkie ,
Oprah/black/silver/Wyandotte, Cash/black Silkie , Sophia/silver Silkie, Marilyn/paint Silkie. Plus two more wyandottes…no name yet…pretty sure they’re hens. The local feed store said 90%guarantee hens, but I think Oprah a Rooster.
Katie says
Our dog loves the chicks too! We just brought our babies home and we ended up with a straight run of 10 Ameracaunas. There is SO MUCH variation in this breed. I think it will be a LONG while before we can get any clues to their gender. I’m not even sure what version of the breed they are. Silver? Lavender? Partridge? The look like little baby Hawks to me! =)
Meg says
Good luck with the ameracaunas. My last Ameraucana was a complete brat from day one as were all of my friend’s ameraucanas. We lost our last flock to a bobcat at the end of December so we just started a new flock. We’ve had good luck with our local feed store. Both in our last flock and our current flock we had a single chick die with the first few days but they happily replaced them and so far we haven’t gotten any Roos. Of course, by saying that I’ve probably just jinxed my two unsexed banties. I am super attached to them and I don’t know how I am going to be able to give them up if they’re Roos…or what the masculine form of Stella and Juliet are. They are both white silkies…or rather, they were both white. Stella is now purple because I couldn’t tell them apart. Before anyone gets upset, I used diluted food coloring to dye her so it was completely non-toxic and immediately blow dried her. She hated being dyed (she thought it was too cold) but she enjoyed the blow drier. Can’t tell if they are bearded or not yet. Honestly, if they turn out to be Roos I’m probably going to end up with two indoor silkie chickens. Even though I’m not supposed to have Roos I doubt they’ll be going anywhere anytime soon. I can’t decide if I should wait to order those chicken dipers, just in case. Haha
I ask have a barred rock (Oreo), cuckoo muran (Pepper), golden-laced Wyandotte (Lacy), and a Rhode Island Red (Chloe). Our last flock consisted of an ameraucan (Libby), bared rock (Missy), buff Orpington (Maise – miss her but won’t miss washing her buff butt), and a black austrolorp (Lola – not so secretly our favorite). If you get a chance, black australorps may be plane Jane black hens but their sweet personalities more than make up for it.
And dogs are all different based on breed characteristics as well. I’m sure my lab would have taken them all out if he wasn’t so old when we got them and my Doberman before that would let my parents cockateel ride around on his butt. We’re getting collie in a few months and collie’s are known for being very sensitive to everything around them and they are particularly known for being very good with and protective of any/all small family pets. Chicks are even specifically listed as one of those small pets they are really good with. She should have some fun learning to heard them though. There are always exceptions but every dog breed is different and they ca. All be taught to leave the chickens alone but some breeds are more prone than others to disobey and have them some fun at the expense of our poor chickies necks.
John says
Please don’t blame an entire company (and their employees who are your neighbors) when you couldn’t tell, either. Sometimes life gives you lemons – or roosters.