HI All! I took in 6 leghorn chicks that were hatched in an elementary classroom some time last week. The chicks were brought to me Monday evening this week so they are about 9-11 days old today I guess and I noticed a couple are developing combs already as of today. 3 have long well developed wing and tail feathers and 2 have much shorter wing feathers and no tail feathers and then there is one who seemed a bit under developed and had nubby wings that are just starting to get some wing feathers (we are calling this one Kiwi since it's wings were nubs compared to the others when we got them).
I was curious about the significant differences in development and found this thread from a while back: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sexing-white-leghorns.96292/. Am I understanding it correctly that female Leghorns feather out faster than the males? Do the female combs come in faster too because the ones with the more developed feathers have more noticeable combs than the other 3? Or do the males get combs faster?
1st pic is from yesterday. From left to right Chick 1, 3 & 6 Fem? 4,5 Male? Kiwi is #2 admiring itself in the mirror. What do you all think about it's wings. Pics of Kiwi from day we got them. Do the wings look normal? Was also very small compared to others. I think the teacher actually helped Kiwi hatch because s/he was struggling to break out of its shell.
We have 22 chicks in various stages at this point. Is that enough to support more than one roo? I've been told leghorns aren't great for eating, but if we have more than 3 roos I will consider that option if one can't be rehomed. So not wanting to get too attached to these, but they're so stinking cute and much friendlier than I expected for this breed.
I was curious about the significant differences in development and found this thread from a while back: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sexing-white-leghorns.96292/. Am I understanding it correctly that female Leghorns feather out faster than the males? Do the female combs come in faster too because the ones with the more developed feathers have more noticeable combs than the other 3? Or do the males get combs faster?
1st pic is from yesterday. From left to right Chick 1, 3 & 6 Fem? 4,5 Male? Kiwi is #2 admiring itself in the mirror. What do you all think about it's wings. Pics of Kiwi from day we got them. Do the wings look normal? Was also very small compared to others. I think the teacher actually helped Kiwi hatch because s/he was struggling to break out of its shell.
We have 22 chicks in various stages at this point. Is that enough to support more than one roo? I've been told leghorns aren't great for eating, but if we have more than 3 roos I will consider that option if one can't be rehomed. So not wanting to get too attached to these, but they're so stinking cute and much friendlier than I expected for this breed.