4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[rufusrooster]

sorry to go on about this but its driving me mad just wish it would either lay an egg or start crowing, 3 weeks now and still neither, as you can see from the pics her comb and especially her wattles have doubled in size in those 3 weeks, and she still attempts to mount the rir on occasion, and very forcefully. trying to pin her down with her beak,

i have not managed to discover exact age yet, i have a link to a video i took earlier today and you can hear the cackling noise she makes a lot of the time. (sounds like the predator)

he or she ? and as a percentage how sure are you ?

 

 

 

no obvios tail feathers or spurs but she does have small nodules, do all hens have these instead of spurs ?

 

 

oh, and still nothing from Gene, the black Cochin/hybrid thingy ?

[tom123]

It's quite butch looking and has a pretty impressive set of head gear on her/him!

 

 

Tom

[Newmarcell]

Hi,

 

Can't help you with pics without age I'm afraid, as am no expert. I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along soon.

 

What I wanted to mention, however, was that our Sweetie (a.k.a Amber Star) hen mounts our new hens and pulls at the feathers on the back of their necks. It's a dominance thing, and I think she's just exerting her authority.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Newmarcell

[rufusrooster]

just wondering as well, as ive never kept chickens before, what difference is there between the behaviour of a cockerel and a top chook with no cockerel to compete with ?

[Redwing]

One thing a cockerel will often do is make a noise when he sees some food on the ground for the hens to come and see and eat it whereas a top female will eat it all herself!

 

One of my girls treads the others very roughly at times and it is quite common for the top chook to do this and its not nice to see

 

I cant remember what I said last time but I think your hen is a hen and not a boy

[rufusrooster]

One thing a cockerel will often do is make a noise when he sees some food on the ground for the hens to come and see and eat it whereas a top female will eat it all herself!

 

One of my girls treads the others very roughly at times and it is quite common for the top chook to do this and its not nice to see

 

I cant remember what I said last time but I think your hen is a hen and not a boy

 

 

hope so, im just gonna have to wait i suppose, i'm soooo impatient, i want eggs, lots of em and now

 

another thing, the rir spends a lot more time looking for food/foraging than the other two, i'm guessing it cos she's laying ? but Lisa the girl in question doesn't do any digging at all, i certainly dont recall seeing her dig anyway, she will have a look and see if she can find anything tasty whilst the other two are digging though,

[Gallina]

I think it's a boy with those long legs. But there again, maybe with four Cochin/Brahma-type hens I have forgotten what real hens's legs look like.

 

But the wattles are quite big too....

[Patricia W]

The wattles look just like my cockerel's. But the clincher would be the first crow. Any sign of that?

[Egluntyne]

If s/he is the same age as the RIR....then I'd hazzard a guess that s/he is a cockerel. The stance and the wattles are very manly.

[rufusrooster]

The wattles look just like my cockerel's. But the clincher would be the first crow. Any sign of that?

 

 

no, not yet, this might seem a daft question but will the 1st crow be waking all the neighbours up at dawn cock a doodle dooing !

[rufusrooster]

If s/he is the same age as the RIR....then I'd hazzard a guess that s/he is a cockerel. The stance and the wattles are very manly.

 

Martin at the store is still trying to find the exact age for his supplier, but as far as he knows all 3 are 6/7 months old, ive had them 3 weeks so that would mean there a minimum of 29 weeks old, wouldnt they all be laying or crowing by now ?

[Redwing]

They make a croaking noise first then a noise like a party blower then you have a week or so before the first rubbish attempts at proper crowing

[rufusrooster]

They make a croaking noise first then a noise like a party blower then you have a week or so before the first rubbish attempts at proper crowing

 

s/he makes a croaking noise nearly all the time, you can hear her/him in the video clip above

[Redwing]

I have just had a listen, the croak they do is not like that its like they are trying to crow but have a sore throat, their body gets in to the 'crowing position' too

 

Thats an unusual noise he/she is making in the video, like something out of Jurrasic Park

Edited July 29, 2009 by Guest

[rufusrooster]

I have just had a listen, the croak they do is not like that its like they are trying to crow but have a sore throat, their bosy gets in to the 'crowing position' too

 

Thats an unusual noise he/she is making in the video, like something out of Jurrasic Park

 

the video doesnt make it very clear to be honest, its usually louder and more regular, my wife said s/he sounds like "the predator"

 

[Chicken Licken]

My speckledy Primrose is much the same. She regularly jumps on poor old barry (who we thought was a boy, but is most definitely a girl!) and is a much bigger hen. Despite her nasty bullying ways she does lay the occasional egg when she feels like it! Give it a bit mroe time and I reckon yours is a girl

[rufusrooster]

They make a croaking noise first then a noise like a party blower then you have a week or so before the first rubbish attempts at proper crowing

 

 

ok here is the latest update, started making this noise earlier in the week, doesnt do it often, tends to be a few times in a short space of time once/twice a day maybee, obviously where not around 24/7

 

please watch and listen ...

 

[tom123]

cockerel! Its got to be look at the head gear, stance, legs etc. and that sounds like the beginning of a crow

 

Tom

[Woodcat]

hey

 

That is the begining of a crow i'm almost certain. He is quite a butch lad compared to my spekledy who is much rounder so i'm sorry to say my vote goes totally boy

[Griffin]

No doubt about it now, definitely a boy I'm afraid, that's a crow!

[Ms Tilytinkle]

OOooh dear, he looked so beautifully feminine earlier in the previous posts, your instincts were spot on so it seems!! My Lola, who looks like a guy but is a girlie, ( hence the name Lola - er lyrics of the transvestite:) has quite a bok bok on her but as she lays eggs its okay!!. Another clue could be the expression on the other chicken, she looks so hesitant as if nervously anticipating 'huh what's he going to do next!!!!!!!! Am I allowed to change my previous vote from girlie to cockeral .. YIKES COCKERAL!!! OOh dear what will you do, has he any tail feathers growing yet?

[Seagazer]

Oh dear, I thought (and I'm no expert) from the first video that s/he looked quite butch and upright but I guess there is no doubting with that crow!

[rufusrooster]

OOooh dear, he looked so beautifully feminine earlier in the previous posts, your instincts were spot on so it seems!! My Lola, who looks like a guy but is a girlie, ( hence the name Lola - er lyrics of the transvestite:) has quite a bok bok on her but as she lays eggs its okay!!. Another clue could be the expression on the other chicken, she looks so hesitant as if nervously anticipating 'huh what's he going to do next!!!!!!!! Am I allowed to change my previous vote from girlie to cockeral .. YIKES COCKERAL!!! OOh dear what will you do, has he any tail feathers growing yet?

 

no, no sign of any tail feathers, i suppose with hybrids unless youve got another bird to compare it to you can never be sure. its amazing how his wattles & comb have grown in 3 or 4 weeks.