I heard all kinds of commotion, squatting like crazy, etc for a week before an egg. One thing I noticed was that she sat in the neSt box a little but didn't really kick the shavings around and make a nest. Once day there was a chicken butt-sized divot in the shavings and an egg came the next...
A squat! My hatchery australorp just squatted for me at 19 weeks. This seems unusually early? Or is it a hatchery bird thing? Here she is chilling with her buddy Fred.
As a first time chickener, "rooster or pullet" had been on my mind since day one, and mebane never raised any alarms for me. So assuming she's a pullet, how does red comb translate to weeks to lay? Can they color up early and then keep you waiting, or do you think u have an early bird? I wish I...
Forgot to mention, both chickens are 15 weeks. Combs have colored up in the last week, maybe 2 weeks. I'm surprised that the australorp has gone so pink! Neither is squatting or singing (or crowing) yet.
Good point! Out of six sexed pullets, two roosters have already made themselves known, Brandon could be a late bloomer for all the luck I've had. Here's a pic, next to confirmed (sex link) pullet Twelfth Hen. Tail feathers broad and straight, middle to bottom of the pecking order.
Quick question, my lone Australorp (Brandon Mebane is the name) has got quite a red comb and wattles at 14 weeks. My gold sex link looks similar. Both are hatchery birds. The sex link will lay soon because she's bred to but I'm curious, does the red comb sometimes pop up many weeks in advance of...
My Australorp from Cackle is about 8 weeks old, she's got one crooked toe on each foot and she's dumb as a stump (even by chicken standards) but she's a very big, heavy girl and growing like a weed. Nothing so far points to being undersized but she is still very young. She's very placid and...
DesertChic, your ladies are lovely! That picture where you got the green sheen is awesome. Mine is still in that moldy-looking teenage state, with scraggly black feathers and a white fuzzy head. Hoping to see that pretty sheen soon.
Mine is indeed at the bottom of the pecking order, as...
Hello from Washington, Australorpers! I must chime in and say that I've been very happy with my Australorp chick. She's big and plump and very quiet and calm. Which is great because the Marans and Wyandotte in my mixed flock are pretty active and loud. I can plop her on my lap and stroke her...