Hen or roo

[Debbie292d]

I am really confused regarding these babies. They are growing so fast and seem to change by the minute. I have searched the Internet with no avail. My NN with Bowtie was a pink chipmunk at hatch. Was the first one to wing and tail feather out. Has a peacomb. I do believe it is a male due to size and comb growth. I pictured him earlier. Another chick was a cream colored chipmunk that wing and tail feathered slower. The comb grew and waddles started at 3 wks. It is a BIG chick. However, I am leaning toward female. I understand that barnyard chickens are an anything goes with breed but is this possible that this BIG slow grower is female? Today the comb pinked up a bit but it's cold out and now brown feathers are growing around the eyes. I actually thought it was dirty, lol. It is a duckwing pattern...started off silver but gold or tan color is coming through esp on wings. Blue/grey legs with yellow bottom. This one is just unknown in all aspects. Beautiful baby! Thoughts?

Well, like you said, barnyard/backyard breeds can be tough to tell especially when there are multiple roosters and hens, but if you posted pictures, we could try. Otherwise, post them in the What Breed or Gender forum.

 

[Nana K]

Here is the duckwing I'm wondering about. Didn't get pic today with the new dark feathers on the face. First pic is blurry. I received one cream colored egg, one whitish blue egg and four tan/brown eggs. Didn't see them hatch. Obviously NN's came from brown, think partridge came from brown and the other 3 are ?

 

[DobieLover]

but is this possible that this BIG slow grower is female?

Yes. A chick in my first flock of youngsters developed slower but got huge. Bigger than the known cockerel. She is now 6.5 years old and about 5.5# now and is an EE. The cockerel did eventually outgrow her to a weight of 7.8#.

 

[Nana K]

Yes. A chick in my first flock of youngsters developed slower but got huge. Bigger than the known cockerel. She is now 6.5 years old and about 5.5# now and is an EE. The cockerel did eventually outgrow her to a weight of 7.8#.

Thank you. Couldn't find a thing to say that anything was possible. The Internet tells me that boys have no tail feathers and short wings at 6 wks old. Whatever, to quote my grandson. So I impatiently wait for eggs and crows. Still fun to watch them grow.

 

[Nana K]

In my older flock, I have 3 really big girls. Breeds unknown. 2 have to weigh around 8 pounds, their legs are huge. My guess would be black sex link and one that is a full head taller than the others. She looks like a buff orpington but it's anyones guess.

 

[Nana K]

Well, 11 weeks old to the day and my little chick that I thought was a Cockerel did his first crow! It was in greeting. Not overly loud but my husband heard it on the porch. I was so proud, like a milestone had been reached. We have separated the run equally so everyone has room. My older girls are not accepting of the roo! Mama hen returned to the flock for one night then returned to the chicks and has stayed there. It seems, at this point, that I have two separate flocks going. Will watch to see if integration can happen at some point. Hope so. It seems I ended up with 5 girls and 1 Cockerel.

 

[Nomadicus]

Hello and Welcome to BYC. Glad to have you here with us in this fun and poultry loving community.

 

[Debbie292d]

Well, 11 weeks old to the day and my little chick that I thought was a Cockerel did his first crow! It was in greeting. Not overly loud but my husband heard it on the porch. I was so proud, like a milestone had been reached. We have separated the run equally so everyone has room. My older girls are not accepting of the roo! Mama hen returned to the flock for one night then returned to the chicks and has stayed there. It seems, at this point, that I have two separate flocks going. Will watch to see if integration can happen at some point. Hope so. It seems I ended up with 5 girls and 1 Cockerel.

That's pretty great odds to wind up 5 to 1. He's at an awkward age so in a month or two, he'll be wanting to try breed those hens. He may go over better then with them, or there still could be issues. Some roosters can seem a pain at first, causing problems, even being rough, but in time, they can grow into the best chicken on your property. I have a couple of those, and a few around yours age.

 

[Nana K]

That's pretty great odds to wind up 5 to 1. He's at an awkward age so in a month or two, he'll be wanting to try breed those hens. He may go over better then with them, or there still could be issues. Some roosters can seem a pain at first, causing problems, even being rough, but in time, they can grow into the best chicken on your property. I have a couple of those, and a few around yours age.

He gets along well with his hatch mates and Mama Broody can control him still. He is a kick in the pants. He is an escape artist, flying fool and doesn't back down from anything except Mama, lol. He jumps all over you and rides your shoulders. The older girls have attacked him, unprovoked, while free ranging so I keep them separate at this point with separate yard times. Hopefully, end of winter they may start liking each other. When Mama Broody, Opal, went into the other run she had a show down with a other hen. Twice that happened. She won but doesn't want anything to do with her old flock now. It's curious. Just gonna have to let it play out.