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Third image, 2 week old Ancona, WLRC, Cream Legbar, and mystery black chick (australorp? There were 4 breeds that I can’t differentiate yet.)

I ordered a WLRC from McMurray and she is the tiniest chick. The description says she will weigh 8 pounds when mature but I wonder if she is a bantam. I have a cream legbar that is also small, all of the other chicks are significantly larger. Anyone have experience with the breed from McMurray...

I purchased my first pullets from a local breeder. They came with Marek’s. Losing all but 2 over a period of 4 months was awful. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong; why they were dying. I also trust the sexing from a hatchery more than a breeder. But if we don’t have a high rate of...

I have lost so many chicks and chickens this last year and a half. Started with two Rottweilers that killed 4 of our 7 pullets/cockerels and one hen. Lost half of the replacement chicks to USPS rough handling. Lost the last couple of 9 year old hens, and 2 of the 3 surviving 3-year old hens...

Y you our friend could search this forum for “hawk deterrent”. My property is heavily wooded; lots of undergrowth to hide in. I also added a rooster to my flock this year - I suspect he chased the hawk off. Maybe the jerk won’t be going to freezer camp after all. I haven’t heard of anyone doing...

Yes, hawk attacks are a problem for free range chickens. We usually have several attacks a year but luckily haven’t lost any hens. Last attack was 2 days ago - I suspect our cockerel chased the hawk away. The hawks will go for the hen’s eyes. You can see how much damage it did to Cleo’s...

So sorry that you lost him. We had a dog attack right after we moved our pullets to the coop and lost 4 of 7, plus an older hen. My 3 remaining pullets are still skittish, probably always will be. I’m still traumatized. One of my chicks was super friendly and I feel like I failed her. I love...

I did not have Welsummer in my order. They came the week after the Amazon Prime event - between the heat and possible rough handling, or something wrong in my setup, I lost 4 the first week: Ancona, buttercup, Phoenix, white faced black Spanish. My understanding is that TBW is a mixed breed with...

I’m seeing pink wattles. 90% sure this is a cockerel. I have three survivors in this batch; the other two are an Andalusian cockerel and a golden Campine pullet. The TBW’s legs have always matched the Andalusian’s, as has his size. The GC is smaller and more delicate. We have heard some crowing...

Sorry for the late response. She was my sensitive child’s favorite hen and seemed happy enough, just that her legs were paralyzed. Healthy appetite, bright eyes. So we made her a box to give her some time, with the expectation of euthanizing her as she declined. We did have to bathe her...

My theory is that it’s better to have predators who have tried and failed to get into the coop - after they’ve tried a couple of times, they will give up. Weirdly, the only issue we have had with raccoons is them getting into the feed and eating eggs. We’ve never had one attack our chickens...

My coop is open to the run - it only has three sides, protected from north winds. We also have it set into the woods for extra shade. It’s worked well for us, going on 10 years I think. The largest gaps are where the corrugated roof meets the coop sides, so I wouldn’t say it is snake proof. The...

Another week and looking more and more male. Personality and body posture is all female, maybe because he’s still a baby. So far no problems with the Golden Campine cockerel. I will probably keep updating until he crows, for future people trying to sex their polish.

My first flock came with Mareks. The breeder said they were vaccinated, but who knows. I only had 2 of the 9 survive. Second flock of 9, vaccinated - I had one develop paralysis and we brought her into the house. After ~3 or 4 months she regained mobility and we returned her to the flock after 6...

Not surprised - I was assuming that most of the bonus chicks are cockerels. Just bad luck that one of my pullets was missexed. Hopefully they will coexist ok - no rehoming since my flock has Mareks.

Hoping the resident Polish expert, @BastyPutt chimes in. Some of those crest feathers are very pointy, and the wattles are very red. My Ancona is also showing a lot of red, while the rest of the chicks are still pink.

10 week update - starting to look a little rooish?

Coming up on 8 weeks in a couple of days. Axl still looks like a pullet. The Ancona is showing a good bit of pink, but much less than 8-week Ancona cockerels. All of the rest are definitely pullets, except for the Campine, who is all boy.

That happened to me last year. We kept the hen inside 24 hours, in a quiet room. Then put her in a cage with the free ranging flock - she did not like that one bit. Within a couple of days she was back with the flock. We never used blue coat - the skin healed quickly and we didn’t see any...

Your RIR is 100% a rooster. The other one, and the wyandottes look like pullets to me, but I’m not an expert.