Why do all my ameraucanas look like roosters?? *UPDATE...14/15 Sigh...

[arlee453]

Just ranting....

Why is it I can look at everyone else's bird and instantly think 'rooster' or 'hen' but not the same at my house.

I have 15 Ameraucanas - hatched out of DipseyDoodleDoo's eggs. They are now 12.5 weeks old. Should be able to start seeing definate sex characteristics, right?? I swear there is only 1 of the 15 that LOOKS like a pullet. All the rest... I dunno

They all have big old bumpy combs and red around their eyes and wattles. Complicating matters is the fact that I have a tail feather pecker in the bunch, so half of them have lost at least 1/2 their tail feathers.

I finally threw them out of the grow out pen into the larger run to see if that would help distract the feather picker from picking. Before I did that, I had several that were already crowing. Since then they are too busy dodging the bigger chickens to peck on each other OR crow.

I am pretty positive that I have 5 boys. I think that I have 1 pullet for sure. That leaves 9 that look more rooish than girlish.

No way I could have hatched 14 out of 15 roos? Right?? I've had more issues with squabbles and pecking with this bunch of chicks than with any I've ever had. Are Ameraucanas known to be pecky birds??

Now I'll answer my own question....a few more weeks and you should know for sure..... sigh.

 

[mmajw]

Well you cant just tease us and then not post pics.

 

[arlee453]

OK, OK...here's the pics...

This one I'm fairly certain is really a pullet..... the ONLY one I'm sure about!


Now for the rest of them....these pics aren't so great - the little buggers seem to think I'm out to get them when I get close to them...

OK so the pics aren't so great - but all of them have pretty much the same very red combs and red around their eyes. I know at least 3 of them have crowed before

Now, just so you know I'm not completely lost...THIS is a real rooster... my 21 wk old Austrolorp 'pullet-surprise'... In otherwords, pulled from the TSC assorted PULLET bin.

And finally...just for laughs...my psudo-rooster Dusky. Who has, incidentally fathered some cute silkie chicks, so I KNOW he's a rooster!

 

[fullhouse]

Wow, they do all look like roos!

 

[Chickenaddict]

Yikes thats alot of roosters!!! My first hatch this year was 6 rooster out of 8 eggs... I hate it when that happens. My 2 ameraucana hens loved to tear me up the one would hiss at me before she struck my hand like a hungry pitbull. Needless to say they had to go. I am left with one of thier offspring and he is just over 4 months old and starting with the aggression towards the hens. I'm sure not everyones are like that but quite a few are so i've seen and heard

 

[PotterWatch]

Looks like a bunch of roos to me also!

 

[mmajw]

I see several roos there...sorry

 

[babszoo]

Looks like the roo's have it.
You can check also by the back feathers
Boy's are pointed
Girl's are rounded
the tip of the feathers.
try this and see what you think you have.

 

[Sylvie]

Quote:
At what age can you tell this? Mine are 6 weeks tomorrow. I heard that these are the first feathers that they have at 6 weeks. Will I have to wait for the adult feathers before the pointed ones the males have will show?

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

Yep, all roos except for pic #1.

Don't feel bad, last year I hatched 28 sebright X's and 27 were roosters........
It happens.

Made a fine addition to chicken w/rice. The city girl who was renting our cabin agreed. She came home from work one night and we invited her for dinner and we ate outside, and she was like :"Where are all the little cuties"(she made pets out of like half of them since they got to free range 24/7 and were all over the place) and we just pointed to our plates....... her face was holarious, but she kept on eating and agreed they were mighty tasty.