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

[speckled hen]

Hello everyone

Well I was out in the garden this afternoon and got the shock of my life when I heard a cock a doodle doo, we have no other chooks in the area, we have 7 girls. Anyway, hubby and I went to find the girls only to see Mabel crow. We got her/him at the end of April, we was told she was POL. I had only commented last night about how big she was getting and that her head gear was very red and obvious. So am I right that hens don't crow???? Why has it taken this long? can she/he damage my other girls who are much smaller than her. What shall I do? Any come back with the breeder?

 

Sorry for all the questions, Im a bit upset really as it took me ages to locate an orpington in the first place and we are rather attached now

 

Thanks Guys x

 

Ps. I guess this explains why she has been pinning marigold down with her claws!

[Cooks]

do you have any photos you can post??

[speckled hen]

What's the quickest way of getting a pic on the board?

[Cooks]

you can upload a photo to somewhere like Photobucket and then copy the img code to this board... sorry I am useless at explaining these things.

[speckled hen]

OK will give it a go, hubby is in the run as we speak trying to get her/him to pose for the camera

[Cooks]

[speckled hen]

Hope this works

 

http://img4012.photobox.co.uk/99065834aae3bc0bca554b5fea05e252f1ab6a631eaa74f00cb31dfde594faec5184f025.jpg

 

 

http://img4012.photobox.co.uk/15285947c4a11900eb0d069e68ed3ebf4736c7ff585814f8e7ee570e36a4d0aba2beec32.jpg

 

What do you think??

[Cooks]

the photos are really small so it would be hard to tell, can you post up something larger? with all the chook in the frame?

edit... how old did you say in weeks he/she is supposed to be?

Edited September 6, 2009 by Guest

[Snowy]

If you highlight the link and click on the Img tag you get pics!

 

They are a bit small to tell but she does look a bit blokey

 

 

[Janty]

Looks manly to me, I'm afraid.

 

[speckled hen]

http://img4012.photobox.co.uk/77572968c32fc054e34d93b61bfc22ea0c230ee9940cd7e6df9af30da0b7e4062de2f1e7.jpg

 

http://img4012.photobox.co.uk/84595597524b6df3b3e240ae2797963a8ddb774d2d5670b46ad5a3acb8d4ee1d999609db.jpg

 

http://img4012.photobox.co.uk/84327453f02bdf8c0dd392f0e78496de91bf99083eb5325ffdf8fa09115abe77a92a8306.jpg

 

 

Any better? I have enlarged them a bit and added one

 

We have had them for 17 weeks, not sure how old she was, supposed to be pol but not sure.

Edited September 6, 2009 by Guest

[Cooks]

definatley a lot more face furniture than my 20 weeks orp girlies. but they are younger than yours I think.

I would have my doubts about it being a girl with face furniture looking like that too. When the breeder said POL did he/she give you an age in weeks?

 

edit having said that Palmer07 has orps and one of hers has great face furniture... the fact the he/she jumps on the other hens backs is not a true indicator as hens can do this too.

[Snowy]

 

Any better?

Loads better!

Definitely looks like a boy though I would certainly contact the breeder - any good breeder will know that some hens are harder to sex than others and will have back or exchange any that prove to be cockerels. If you get no joy you will know not to go back there again. You could try on the Practical Poultry forum, or selling him through the Omlet marketplace. Buff orps are lovely birds so someone might be keen to take him as a stud. Otherwise you could try a local farm park or petting zoo. Hope you get sorted

[speckled hen]

If she is a he can he damage my much smaller girls? We live in the sticks so the noise shouldn't be a problem. Should I contact the breeder?

[Cooks]

having just seen the extra photos you added I would definately say boy.

[Falkor]

I would say chap too, look at those feathers swooping down. My Orps girls don`t have those swooping feathers.

 

Are his/her neck feathers rounded or pointy?

 

Great news though that you can keep him!

 

How much smaller are your other girls?

[speckled hen]

The other girls are quite a lot smaller, the shetland in particular. Mabel has always been very cuddly until about 6 weeks ago, she stopped allowing us to cuddle her and will not go in the run at night until the others are settled, she will run off and then in 15 mins or so go and stand next to the run and allow me to open the door So quite a character that I would like to keep if safe for the others.

[chocolateeclaire]

Zena our huge black Orphington has also started crowing.

I was worried but have been told, on this forum, that it is normal for the dominant female to crow!!

Claire

[speckled hen]

Does she look like a girl?? Opinion is that my Mabel looks like a boy, really hoping I can keep her but worried she will be a bit too much for the girls.

[Daphne]

unfortunately I can't see the pictures but it must be possible to tell by now (around 7-8 months old?) if Mabel is a girl or a boy. Have you tried looking at other photos of orps on the internet - www.feathersite.com is a good one. Also, if its a full blooded loud crow then he is a he.

 

Presuming he/she is a LF then you might find problems with your girls in terms of size. Our LF orp boy certainly preferred my largest orps to start with, but then once he'd worked out that the smaller freckled things were also hens he jumped on them without any hesitation. He doesn't seem bothered with the bantam if she happens to be out. If you want to keep him, I would suggest you monitor the situation and see how the girls cope. You have a selection of girls which should help spread his attentions, tho some cockerals do have favourites. One thing you should also consider, particularly for the smaller girls, is a saddle. This goes over the hen's back to protect her as his spurs can do damage as he grips on. Those (usually smaller) girls with fewer feathers on their backs suffer first/most. You can get leather ones, but canvas is much cheaper (but still very effective).

[speckled hen]

Well Im pretty much certain she is a he. I have just spoken to the breeder who I have to say is a really lovely chap, he is more than happy to provide me with a girl (just need to choose a colour!) We have decided to wait a couple of weeks and see how he settles in, if ok we will keep him if not we will take him back, although that means he will be off to the auction so might have to check out the local petting farm etc first.

 

Next problem, can one orp be introduced on her own or do we need more?????!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks for all the comments

[Daphne]

Its definitely best to introduce more than one at a time, particularly one orp to a mixed bunch as orps are docile and can get picked on. Two newbies will tend to pair up.

[Saronne]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't see the pictures! What's gone wrong?

 

 

Saronne x