8 week old chick with bad leg attacked by others

[rebrascora]

Not unless you did it just before the photo was taken..... the comb can flush from exertion ie. struggling to avoid the injection or running around a lot no wanting to be caught, but not from the actual vitamin B itself.

Is there a reason why she is reluctant to believe this chick is male? Obviously there is a 50% chance of a chick that hatches being male (it would be different if you had purchased sexed pullets) so I'm just wondering why she is finding hard to accept that this chick is male?..... Not that I am 100% certain yet, but those two signs I mentioned are strong indicators. For information, most males will be "friendlier" than pullets at this age. Almost everyone who is told they have a cockerel at this age says " but it is our favourite!".... It is because they are slightly bolder than females and will be the first to approach and be handled.

 

[DoubleBoop]

No reason, she just likes pullets more. I think there's a few cockerals in the bunch. Hopefully not, because there wouldn't be enough hens for them.

 

[rebrascora]

Almost everyone wants to just hatch pullets! The fact is that there is a 50% chance that each egg that hatches will be male. When you hatch eggs it is a good idea to decide in advance what you are going to do with the surplus males. Some people build them a bachelor pad, some give them away and don't ask too many questions and some butcher them for meat. Some let them run rampant in their flock harassing the hens and pullets, which is not a healthy situation.
There are many posts on BYC about what to do with them and there is no easy answer. I wish you luck finding the right solution for your situation.

 

[Stayc]

Glad s(he) is doing better

 

[EggSighted4Life]

The fact is that there is a 50% chance that each egg that hatches will be male.

75-85% of my hatches have been male.

And I'll be darned if the predators won't come after the females first.

In my personal experience flushing of females is usually their face but does not include the comb which stays flesh colored. I hope your girlfriend is right! But I wouldn't count on it.

1/2 inch hardware cloth might keep her chicks from getting eaten, if that's what happens to them. Or provide mama hen a safer place. Why would a snake eat the chicks but not the eggs before they hatched? Maybe it's a different predator...

If you wanna see if the B had anything to do with "flushing", post us another pic. Hey why not include the others you wonder if are male? Seems like I'm just trying to get chicken pics outta you!

 

[DoubleBoop]

Well folks, a few weeks have passed since this was posted, and "Critter" is in fact a female. My girlfriend had 4 males and 6 females. They're getting easy to tell now. Critter still has a slight limp but is improving slowly, and can now walk and run. She's isolated mot of the day except for when momma's feeding the chickens and supervising. She's made a great recovery and the head is almost healed up too.

 

[DoubleBoop]

Critter gets daily exercise. Chicken fetch, my girlfriend calls it. She takes Critter into the yard, and throws her. Critter uses her wings to stabilize and land softly, then runs right back for more. Critter loves it. Critter will also follow her around the pasture for exercise. I think the bird will have a happy healthy life.

 

[rebrascora]

Great to hear he is doing so much better. Well done! Can we see an updated photo?

 

[DoubleBoop]

I'll ask for one. The other 4 males have larger redder combs, whereas Critter's comb has returned to normal color and is small. at the age they're at it's obvious who the roosters are. I'll still ask though

 

[rebrascora]

It looks like Critter has a pea comb instead of a single comb, so it will not grow big like you might expect. He also has red patches on the wings which is a male specific mark.... but don't let me disillusion you.