They were big birds. At 10 weeks of age when I bought them, they were already bigger than my Leghorn and almost as big as the Naked Necks.
Well, it turns out one of my 'hens' ain't. She's a rooster.
A couple weeks ago I started having my suspicions, but I'd bought something like 10 pullets over the years from the same place and I know sexing chicks is a crapshoot, but they'd never gotten the sexing wrong before.
I figured something was off because this 'pullet' was a little aggressive - it would get all bowed up with its sisters and get right up on them blowing out its hackles and pushing its chest out to them. Then there's the fact that the hackle feathers are pointed instead of being rounded at the tips. No spurs yet, but there are bumps where they'd be - matter of fact, all three of them have them.
Me being the optimistic fool that I am, I figured "Okay, maybe it's a lesbian chicken" so I named it Butch. As long as 'she' laid eggs, I didn't care what it identified as. Rainbow Power, Pride Month, Live and Let Live, right?
Then this morning, 'she' started crowing. It was a weak, sickly start-up crow, but it was undeniably a crow. Then 'she' did it again.
Fuck.
It may be a blessing in disguise, though. Butch and his sisters are terrified by the Naked Necks to the point that I haven't been able to integrate the two flocks together, even after several tries. When I try to introduce the Freedom Rangers into the bigger coop, the Naked Necks tear right into them and don't let up to the point that they draw blood and I have to separate them to keep them from pecking the Freedom Rangers to death.
I figure to give them another month or two until Butch grows bigger balls and gets protective of his sisters, then try again. Jane, Annie and the Broody Bitch are going to be in for one hell of a surprise.
Great story. Just got 5 new girls 9 days ago. Two days ago I took down the temporary fence in the coop that has been separating them so they could all be together so far so good no fights.
ReplyDeleteWe once introduced some new hens to our little flock and one of them got so badly bullied by the others that she just hid in a corner and wouldn't move. I partitioned off a little area of the enclosure and made a little space for her until things settled down. I wondered if she had made an Ill advised bid for the top spot and had then been put firmly in her place by the others.
ReplyDeleteTry putting them in at night. I found if they woke up in the morning with new neighbors, they never fought. But if I did it while they were awake, it was a mess.
ReplyDeleteDuh, I knew that which makes me even dumber for not trying it. Thanks for the reminder. I'll give it a go in a couple days. THANK YOU!
DeleteGood tip, thanks.
DeleteWelcome!
DeleteWe had a hen recently "change" to a rooster. We already had 4 roosters for a flock of about 25. We looked it up. It's possible. Maybe what happened here
ReplyDeleteYou sure it doesn't just "identify" as a cock? ;)
ReplyDeleteMaybe if it was a Nashville chicken. This is a Macon County bird.
DeleteI make a fenced enclosure in my coop, with its own lower roosting bar, and keep the new ones in there for a couple of weeks. After a while, I go in at night and tear the enclosure apart. They always stay segregated for a while but I have never seen any attacks. I have sort of a big coop, so it can accommodate the added enclosure.
ReplyDeleteWorked for me, too.
DeleteThe Freedom Ranger chicks I bought years ago were marketed as a very active foraging bird. We free ranged them, and about the time that the males started to get their voices, each of those males had a serious farm accident. If you don't want to, or can't keep a roo, then harvest him.
ReplyDelete