My first winter with chickens was my first winter with a polar vortex. I don't remember what the temps for that day were, but I decided it would be too cold for chickens and I wouldn't let them out that day. When I went out to bring them warm water, the entire flock met me at the gate to the...
Mix away! Do a little research and pick breeds with similar temperaments and you should be ok. If you have any questions, the BYC community is a font of knowledge and can give you their personal experiences.
I've always had mixed flocks and never really had a problem. Right now my in town...
I would agree, the ones you clocked as cockerels are definitely 100% boys. Never have I ever seen a chick with that much wattle development at 9 weeks turn out to be a pullet. You can cull them without worrying they're secret pullets. And the three you think are pullets all look like girls to me...
Most barred roosters (of a given breed) are "double barred" meaning they have two copies of the barring gene. But you only need one copy of the barring gene for barring to show. A single barred rooster will only have a 50% chance of passing barring on to his offspring. Your rooster must have...
I think #1 and letter B are most likely pullets, nothing saying male to me on those two.
#6 I'm leaning pullet. The comb an wattles are awfully pink, but not as much as I would expect from a 9 week old single comb cockerel.
Letter C also has a very girly comb. But the uneven, kinda blotchy...
Went out to take care of the girls this morning and there was ice in the waterer. Time to winterize! We dropped a small tank de-icer in the waterer.
Last year Limu and (I think) Paprika had just a touch of frostbite on their combs. Not much, just the very tip on one or two points, but enough...
This one might need a little more time to be certain, but I think pullet. Right now nothing says male to me. Comb is small and pale.
And while Red shoulders is usually a male trait in easter eggers, that telltale red is usually a more rusty, less even color. The red on this bird's shoulders is...
Mine get to live the chicken goodlife for 3-5 months. Then they go to freezer camp. Of course mine are heavy dual purpose and we chose those breeds specifically for meat.
The crests definitely come from legbar ancestry. LegbarXwelsummer is one of the two most common hatchery crosses for olive eggers. That's what cross I suspect my olive egger Limu is.
Limu at a few days old
Limu at 2-3 months old
Limu all grown up!
And her egg (upper left)