So, this little mille fleur d'uccle was one of our first broody-hatched babies. She was a little slow and needed help keeping up with mom and the others for the first few weeks. I would periodically have to find her and put her with the group. She had been my only broody-raised baby I could readily handle. I finally determined she was just a loner and terrified of the other chickens, taking off running and hollaring when she saw one of them near.
A few weeks ago, I had another little girl from the same brood with two slipped tendons that I had to bring inside, so I brought Calluna in with her to keep her company. They are besties, but the little mille has become the dominant one of the two.
She is 18 weeks old. The other two girls from her brood are laying. The known cockerel is crowing and mating some of the girls. Well, I spent a week out of town and came back on Sunday to little Calluna looking like she's probably a boy. She has long hackle feathers, very few white feather tips, green iridescence to her sickled tail feathers, and her base color is a deeper mahogany than that of my two mille girls. Her comb, however, is still fairly small and light for her age. Is she a he? I am fairly convinced this is a late-blooming d'uccle boy. Has anyone had bantams mature so slowly?
A few weeks ago, I had another little girl from the same brood with two slipped tendons that I had to bring inside, so I brought Calluna in with her to keep her company. They are besties, but the little mille has become the dominant one of the two.
She is 18 weeks old. The other two girls from her brood are laying. The known cockerel is crowing and mating some of the girls. Well, I spent a week out of town and came back on Sunday to little Calluna looking like she's probably a boy. She has long hackle feathers, very few white feather tips, green iridescence to her sickled tail feathers, and her base color is a deeper mahogany than that of my two mille girls. Her comb, however, is still fairly small and light for her age. Is she a he? I am fairly convinced this is a late-blooming d'uccle boy. Has anyone had bantams mature so slowly?