Disclaimer: I know sexing day old chicks is as much an art as a science, and is not easy. I also know sexed chicks are only a 90% chance of being the sexed sex. This knowledge does not comfort me at this time. This is an exasperated rant.
Did anyone else get a bunch of little roosters in their "pullets" this year?
We were thinking of taking a chicken break after our sweet aging hens pass (they are both five and still laying). Then the egg crisis, so we decided to get some more hens to provide eggs for us and our extended family. Competition for chicks this year locally was pretty heavy, plus when we got chicks in February there were storms between the hatcheries shipping and the feed stores selling them here. What the stores were supposed to get went out the window and they got what they got. By some luck, we managed to get our Orpingtons, though for some reason no buffs were available so we ended up with lavender and chocolate. I watched them being unpacked, so I know they were day old and saw they were labeled "pullets".
The lavenders grew like little mutants and are huge for their age. And it has become apparent they were straight run, as 3 of the 6 appear to be roosters. We had to separate the males, as they kept herding the females away from us, and telling them we are scary and panicking everyone. After moving the males, I have the females eating treats from my hands in just a few days. And the males aren't afraid of me anymore either. I assume this was a protection behavior and with no girls they are just chilling in their bachelor pen.
The chocolates, one week younger, are only two thirds the size and are separated from the lavender girls by mesh to prevent bullying. This morning I saw one of them is getting a rather puffy chest (the lavender males have noticably puffier chests than the females) and some very red wattles. It's also the one that loves to jump up and perch on the edge of the pen when I lift the mesh lid to take care of their needs. Now I'm starting to worry that more of the chocolates might be yet more roosters. I'll be heartbroken if my favorite absurdly friendly Pudding is a rooster too.
Most mail order chicks were sold out this spring, as well as I was seeing about $75 in shipping. At this point, I'd pay the extra to actually have better sexed pullets next time we buy chicks. People that mail ordered your chicks, did you find the sexing more accurate?
It's not even the cost of the birds, the feed and housing lost when sexing is this level of unreliable. Almost half the chicks we got appear to be roosters, so how can we plan for our needed egg layers? And I'm stressing on what to do with the roosters. While I eat chicken, I'm not really capable of processing my own. Thankfully the roosters are all getting along so far, but the larger they get the more I'm going to struggle to house them, as it's apparent they have to be separated if I'm going to have friendly hens.
Thank you for listening to my rant. What have your experiences been this year on "pullets"?
And if anyone in Oregon wants lavender and possibly chocolate Orpington roosters, let me know.
Did anyone else get a bunch of little roosters in their "pullets" this year?
We were thinking of taking a chicken break after our sweet aging hens pass (they are both five and still laying). Then the egg crisis, so we decided to get some more hens to provide eggs for us and our extended family. Competition for chicks this year locally was pretty heavy, plus when we got chicks in February there were storms between the hatcheries shipping and the feed stores selling them here. What the stores were supposed to get went out the window and they got what they got. By some luck, we managed to get our Orpingtons, though for some reason no buffs were available so we ended up with lavender and chocolate. I watched them being unpacked, so I know they were day old and saw they were labeled "pullets".
The lavenders grew like little mutants and are huge for their age. And it has become apparent they were straight run, as 3 of the 6 appear to be roosters. We had to separate the males, as they kept herding the females away from us, and telling them we are scary and panicking everyone. After moving the males, I have the females eating treats from my hands in just a few days. And the males aren't afraid of me anymore either. I assume this was a protection behavior and with no girls they are just chilling in their bachelor pen.
The chocolates, one week younger, are only two thirds the size and are separated from the lavender girls by mesh to prevent bullying. This morning I saw one of them is getting a rather puffy chest (the lavender males have noticably puffier chests than the females) and some very red wattles. It's also the one that loves to jump up and perch on the edge of the pen when I lift the mesh lid to take care of their needs. Now I'm starting to worry that more of the chocolates might be yet more roosters. I'll be heartbroken if my favorite absurdly friendly Pudding is a rooster too.
Most mail order chicks were sold out this spring, as well as I was seeing about $75 in shipping. At this point, I'd pay the extra to actually have better sexed pullets next time we buy chicks. People that mail ordered your chicks, did you find the sexing more accurate?
It's not even the cost of the birds, the feed and housing lost when sexing is this level of unreliable. Almost half the chicks we got appear to be roosters, so how can we plan for our needed egg layers? And I'm stressing on what to do with the roosters. While I eat chicken, I'm not really capable of processing my own. Thankfully the roosters are all getting along so far, but the larger they get the more I'm going to struggle to house them, as it's apparent they have to be separated if I'm going to have friendly hens.
Thank you for listening to my rant. What have your experiences been this year on "pullets"?
And if anyone in Oregon wants lavender and possibly chocolate Orpington roosters, let me know.
It must be an issue. 
