New to Chickens

Date sort Score sort
nuyoricanchick

nuyoricanchick

Chirping
9 Years
Mar 30, 2015
11
0
82
Las Vegas
Hi, I started a small garden in my backyard and decided to get chickens. I am very nervous but excited about this idea. So far they are 5 weeks old and I just put them out into their outside coop. I have 3 Americaunas from what I was told at the feed store. I am stressing because one of my chickens is much larger than the other two and I don't know if it is a rooster or just a big chicken. I come from NYC and know nothing about chickens or gardening. I have just been reading alot and trying to follow instructions. How do I know if I have a rooster?
 
Hi :welcome

Glad you could join the flock! Try not to be nervous keeping chickens can be a bit daunting at first but once you get into the swing of things it's great fun. At 5 weeks it's probably a little early to tell if it's a roo but in a few weeks you could post some pics in the what breed gender section of the forum.
Here is the link https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this
Some chicks even of the same breed can develop at different rates. Did you get them out a pullet bin or a straight run bin? If from a straight run bin there is the chance of you having a roo.

Wishing you the very best of luck and enjoy your new chicken adventure. Be sure to ask any questions you may have, everyone is here to help you along the way and very friendly :frow
 
Hello, and welcome to BYC!
welcome-byc.gif
I'm glad you joined our community.

If you're unsure whether you have a rooster, just post a photo. We'll be happy to help identify it.
smile.png
Size, in my experience, isn't usually a sign that a bird is a cockerel. Your larger bird may just be faster maturing or a little older.
 
welcome-byc.gif
I'm glad you joined our "flock!"

If you post some photos of your chickens, we should be able to sex them for you. In general, roosters have larger, redder combs, crow at a certain age, develop pointed saddle/hackle feathers, and may have thicker legs and a more masculine appearance. Size is not an important factor when determining gender.

Good luck with your chickens! Ameraucanas are a wonderful breed to raise.
 
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. If you got your Ameraucanas at a feed store, they are actually Easter Eggers and not true Ameraucanas. Easter Eggers are hybirds produced by crossing blue egg laying breeds with brown egg laying breeds to produce offspring that lay eggs in colors other than just blue. Hatcheries and feed stores often incorrectly sell their Easter Eggers under the labels Ameraucana or Araucana. The larger size of your chick could either be due to the combination of breeds that went into it, or it could be a rooster, or since feed stores sometimes get the chicks mixed up in the bins, it could be a totally different breed or hybrid. If you will post a pic, we would be happy to take a look at it for you. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. Good luck with your flock.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom