anndelise
In the Brooder
I might buy a camera later today to take pictures with, but for now...
Roo= black leghorn mutt
Hens= 2 australorps and 2 barred plymouth rocks
Incubator anomoly= day 14 had a few hours of 104f, killed 3 eggs.
Pipping started on day 23, Had to assist last two eggs to hatch.
Chick 1= plymouth rock....but with brown (partridge?) coloring, second largest chick, the other 3 are noticeably smaller.
Chick 2= australorp coloring, tall long legged upright stance, slow to feather, and shorter wing feathers
Chick 3= australorp coloring, largest chick, fast feathering, runs the brooder; from day 0 ... first to pop head out to check if clear to come out of heat cave; once #3 leaves heat cave, then the rest come out; watches everyone and everything that comes into the room, immediately connected the sound of the latches with me about to open the door and runs straight over to watch everything I do, with a stance of if I make the wrong movement it will peck me; the first to hop up onto hand/arm for food; does the long necked dance if any get in its way.
24+ hours later,
Chick 4= barred rock coloring, tall long legged stance, but finer/smaller legs than the first 3 chicks, assisted hatch, slow to feather
Chick 5= barred rock coloring, tall long legged stance, but finer/smaller legs than the first 3 chicks, assisted hatch, feather rate is in between that of the fast featherers and the slow featherers.
Tentative sexing:
a) #4&5: because the dad was solid black and mother was barred, then any barred coloring would be male, so 4&5=male
b) #1: presumably from the plymouth rock hens, but has brown coloring instead of dad's blackness. The partridge plymouth rock chick coloring matches #1’s chick coloring. Initially think is female because not white barred, but can't find anything to hint as to why came out brown/partridge.
c) comparing #2&3, there's a significant difference in body shape and feathering rate. Leghorns are fast featherers, australorps are delayed featherers, so supposedly females from this mix would be fast featherers and males delayed/normal. So figured #3 is female, and #2 is male. BUT, #3's behaviors match that of descriptions for males, and dad being a mutt might alter the feather-sexing.
d) readings suggested that male eggs survive hotter temps better than female eggs, and female eggs survive cooler temps than male eggs. 3 chicks died in the egg around day 14, presumably due to that 104f temp spike that lasted for a few hours. I fear those may have been females and the ones that survived are males. Especially since the head chick acts so much like a male, and the brown chick doesn't fit the genetic stuff I've been able to read.
Questions:
E) do top female chicks act like #3? Or is she more likely a he?
F) why would #1 come out partridge/brown instead of white-barred like mom or black like dad?
G) is it safe to say that 4&5 are males?
H) how likely is it that 2 is male?
Other info:
I made a spontaneous purchase at the feed store. I had thought i had two females (#1&3), and wanted a total of 4 females, but wanted another australorp on april 8. The spontaneous purchase is a golden laced cochin. But it wasn't til I got home and realized it was a bantam type, and the receipt said SR (straight run?). #6 is so much smaller than the others, but immediately took to the brown chick. #6 gets up under #1&3, and they stand over her and will act protective of her. But #6 usually eats around #4&5, while #1-3 eat together.
Also, 1-3 tend to do the neck dance once or twice a day, though number 3 tends to 'win'. #4 tries once in a while, as well. One thing i read is that in a mixed flock the males form their own pecking order, and the females theirs. This worries me even more that all of my hatchlings might be male.
((The reason I'm asking about all this is because I absolutely cannot have even one crow happen in my yard, else it puts all chickens in this area at risk of being kicked out. I've a place for the males to go as soon as they feather out and can survive the nightly temps without heat. But I'd really like a couple of layers. I have to decide by tomorrow if I need to buy another couple of chicks or not, but space is limited as well.))
Roo= black leghorn mutt
Hens= 2 australorps and 2 barred plymouth rocks
Incubator anomoly= day 14 had a few hours of 104f, killed 3 eggs.
Pipping started on day 23, Had to assist last two eggs to hatch.
Chick 1= plymouth rock....but with brown (partridge?) coloring, second largest chick, the other 3 are noticeably smaller.
Chick 2= australorp coloring, tall long legged upright stance, slow to feather, and shorter wing feathers
Chick 3= australorp coloring, largest chick, fast feathering, runs the brooder; from day 0 ... first to pop head out to check if clear to come out of heat cave; once #3 leaves heat cave, then the rest come out; watches everyone and everything that comes into the room, immediately connected the sound of the latches with me about to open the door and runs straight over to watch everything I do, with a stance of if I make the wrong movement it will peck me; the first to hop up onto hand/arm for food; does the long necked dance if any get in its way.
24+ hours later,
Chick 4= barred rock coloring, tall long legged stance, but finer/smaller legs than the first 3 chicks, assisted hatch, slow to feather
Chick 5= barred rock coloring, tall long legged stance, but finer/smaller legs than the first 3 chicks, assisted hatch, feather rate is in between that of the fast featherers and the slow featherers.
Tentative sexing:
a) #4&5: because the dad was solid black and mother was barred, then any barred coloring would be male, so 4&5=male
b) #1: presumably from the plymouth rock hens, but has brown coloring instead of dad's blackness. The partridge plymouth rock chick coloring matches #1’s chick coloring. Initially think is female because not white barred, but can't find anything to hint as to why came out brown/partridge.
c) comparing #2&3, there's a significant difference in body shape and feathering rate. Leghorns are fast featherers, australorps are delayed featherers, so supposedly females from this mix would be fast featherers and males delayed/normal. So figured #3 is female, and #2 is male. BUT, #3's behaviors match that of descriptions for males, and dad being a mutt might alter the feather-sexing.
d) readings suggested that male eggs survive hotter temps better than female eggs, and female eggs survive cooler temps than male eggs. 3 chicks died in the egg around day 14, presumably due to that 104f temp spike that lasted for a few hours. I fear those may have been females and the ones that survived are males. Especially since the head chick acts so much like a male, and the brown chick doesn't fit the genetic stuff I've been able to read.
Questions:
E) do top female chicks act like #3? Or is she more likely a he?
F) why would #1 come out partridge/brown instead of white-barred like mom or black like dad?
G) is it safe to say that 4&5 are males?
H) how likely is it that 2 is male?
Other info:
I made a spontaneous purchase at the feed store. I had thought i had two females (#1&3), and wanted a total of 4 females, but wanted another australorp on april 8. The spontaneous purchase is a golden laced cochin. But it wasn't til I got home and realized it was a bantam type, and the receipt said SR (straight run?). #6 is so much smaller than the others, but immediately took to the brown chick. #6 gets up under #1&3, and they stand over her and will act protective of her. But #6 usually eats around #4&5, while #1-3 eat together.
Also, 1-3 tend to do the neck dance once or twice a day, though number 3 tends to 'win'. #4 tries once in a while, as well. One thing i read is that in a mixed flock the males form their own pecking order, and the females theirs. This worries me even more that all of my hatchlings might be male.
((The reason I'm asking about all this is because I absolutely cannot have even one crow happen in my yard, else it puts all chickens in this area at risk of being kicked out. I've a place for the males to go as soon as they feather out and can survive the nightly temps without heat. But I'd really like a couple of layers. I have to decide by tomorrow if I need to buy another couple of chicks or not, but space is limited as well.))
