Ok, I know I'm really jumping the gun here, and I'll have a much better idea in a few weeks. But the suspense is killing me!!!
I'm almost positive that we have a Barred Rock roo. He/she has only JUST begun to sprout tail feathers and is at least 2 weeks behind the others in the wing and tail feather dept. At the same time, this chick developed a comb before all the others. And rather than the bumps (is there a proper name for them) running in a straight line, there is a cluster of three at the top of the comb and a somewhat zig zag line of them down the length. This same chick has become even more stand-offish this week with being held, but happily picks fights with the other Barred Rock and the Buff Orp (both which are about the same size as this chick and who hold their own in the 'battles').
While we'd be sad to lose Turkey (the he/she BR), we'd be devastated to lose our Buff Orp, Henrietta. Her comb really started to develop at about 2 or 2 1/2 weeks, too. It's all in one straight line, but the top "knobs" stick up quite high. The Ameraucanas/EEs have virtually no combs at this point, and the other BR has a shorter comb that the BO. Also, I'd read somewhere that because BOs are so sweet, that they are often picked on by the other chickens. Is this something that is evident at this stage, or as they grow older? So far, she is incredibly sweet, but she also holds her own with all of the other chicks and is definitely in the top 2 of the pecking order (out of 5). So what does this all mean??? PLEASE tell me she's not a he!!
I'll try to snap photos tomorrow as all I have now are from last week (that's if they'll stand still and cooperate, LOL). In the meantime, any tips on what I should be looking for would be greatly appreciated.
I'm almost positive that we have a Barred Rock roo. He/she has only JUST begun to sprout tail feathers and is at least 2 weeks behind the others in the wing and tail feather dept. At the same time, this chick developed a comb before all the others. And rather than the bumps (is there a proper name for them) running in a straight line, there is a cluster of three at the top of the comb and a somewhat zig zag line of them down the length. This same chick has become even more stand-offish this week with being held, but happily picks fights with the other Barred Rock and the Buff Orp (both which are about the same size as this chick and who hold their own in the 'battles').
While we'd be sad to lose Turkey (the he/she BR), we'd be devastated to lose our Buff Orp, Henrietta. Her comb really started to develop at about 2 or 2 1/2 weeks, too. It's all in one straight line, but the top "knobs" stick up quite high. The Ameraucanas/EEs have virtually no combs at this point, and the other BR has a shorter comb that the BO. Also, I'd read somewhere that because BOs are so sweet, that they are often picked on by the other chickens. Is this something that is evident at this stage, or as they grow older? So far, she is incredibly sweet, but she also holds her own with all of the other chicks and is definitely in the top 2 of the pecking order (out of 5). So what does this all mean??? PLEASE tell me she's not a he!!
I'll try to snap photos tomorrow as all I have now are from last week (that's if they'll stand still and cooperate, LOL). In the meantime, any tips on what I should be looking for would be greatly appreciated.
