Americana 6 month old chicks

sshaddinger

In the Brooder
Feb 21, 2018
10
9
19
Hi!
I have two 6 mth old Americana chicks. They sound like roosters, how long will they make this noise. I have had someone check to make sure that they are not roosters and they are hens. I feel my neighbours will get upset cause they are so loud.
 
Hi!
I have two 6 mth old Americana chicks. They sound like roosters, how long will they make this noise. I have had someone check to make sure that they are not roosters and they are hens. I feel my neighbours will get upset cause they are so loud.
Pics? Sounds like you have some cockerels.
If your neighbors complain you may need to rehome them. They will crow their whole lives pretty much, but they may crow less out of mating season.
 
Greetings sshaddinger,

I know exactly what you are talking about. I have two Ameruacanas, one is a cockerel, the other a hen.

My September hatch resulted in a total of 6 cockerels of different breeds. At 12 weeks of age, I separated the pullets and the cockerels. A couple of the cockerels would crow and cry when they saw me coming. So I was used to hearing their varying vocalizations. I would greet them cheerfully, as they gathered around me. And they would settle down, then go about their chicken activities.

However, about a week later I heard a new sound. But, it wasn't coming from the rooster pen. I quickly walked over to the hen pen...and there she was, my Ameruacana, crowing, at just 13 weeks old! Because she is a hen, she was not crowing in the same way that the cockerels were. She seemed to be emulating the sounds of the cockerels, in an effort to get my attention, too.

When I entered the pen, she ran over to me. Then, she'd flutter into the air, like a little helicopter. I bent down, and she flew into my arms. Well, "hello, Lovey", "how's my little precious doing today?", I'd say to her, as I stroked her chest. She too settled down, but continued this behavior for another two weeks, then stopped.

Your hens may be reacting to stress. If they haven't been with you that long, stress from new surroundings may be prompting the crowing. Chickens experience anxiety too. Other things like being stalked by predators: dogs, cats, and wildlife, can also create odd behaviors in young chickens. Adult hens will even stop laying.

Give your youngsters things to distract them while they are in their pen. Things like pecking bottles with a little scratch and meal worms, corncob feeders, greens baskets, planter with wheat grass sprouts, alfalfa or leaf piles, outdoor perches or platforms, etc. can help relieve stress and enrich the living environment. Free ranging also relieves stress and provides exercise.

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These are my thoughts on your pullets issue. I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless :)
 
Greetings sshaddinger,

I know exactly what you are talking about. I have two Ameruacanas, one is a cockerel, the other a hen.
Give your youngsters things to distract them while they are in their pen. Things like pecking bottles with a little scratch and meal worms, corncob feeders, greens baskets, planter with wheat grass sprouts, alfalfa or leaf piles, outdoor perches or platforms, etc. can help relieve stress and enrich the living environment. Free ranging also relieves stress and provides exercise.

View attachment 1614306 View attachment 1614308 View attachment 1614310 View attachment 1614311
These are my thoughts on your pullets issue. I hope I have been helpful.

God Bless :)

Thanks for some great chicken entertainment ideas. I will have to get creative now - little ones are not fond of playing in the snow so want to give them some fun things to do.
 
Hi! some chicks can be naturally loud, breed varies on the noise output. How positive are you that the chicks are pullets?
Illpost pictures
Hi! some chicks can be naturally loud, breed varies on the noise output. How positive are you that the chicks are pullets?
I took them back to the feedstore and the guy said he checked them and they were hens. It's just weird how they make noise at dawn and again in the evenging for a bit.
 
Perhaps the employee at the feed store was not acquainted with the characteristics of the Ameruacana breed. They lack comb and wattles, so a cockerel can appear to be a hen.

Because your birds have a mottled pattern to their feathers, it's not easy to see the shape of the feathers in the photo. However, the white faced bird, does have a long tail. Normally you can also identify a cockerel by the size of the comb and wattles. But, Ameruacanas and EE's have pea combs, no wattles, instead beards and ear muffs.

It may be helpful to look to the feathering. Cockerels will develop arrow shaped feathers on the rear, saddle area, sickle shaped feathers on the tail and saddle area.

Here is my Ameruacana cockerel, he'll be 15 weeks old on Saturday. Note his feathers and stance. Picture was taken this morning.
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Here he is at a distance. His legs are thicker and his feet are large, compared to his sister.
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Here is Lovey, you can see her rounded feathers, and petite feet and sweet face.
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Lovey's saddle area with lots of rounded feathers.
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By contrast, here is my departed Ameruacana, Taji. She was two and a half years old in this photo.
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Unlike other breeds, which may lay their first egg at 18 weeks, Ameruacanas and EE's can take up to 25 weeks to lay their first egg. A hen will also squat in submission, when you place your hand over their back. They'll start doing this a couple weeks before they lay.

Your birds are 5 months old, so soon they'll be laying and egg. Hopefully, in the next couple weeks or so. That will settle the question of their gender, once and for all.

And all chickens make noise of some sort. I can hear my neighbor hen singing her egg song a quarter mile away! Hens make all kinds of vocalizations, grunts, growls, clucks, screeching and yes, crowing type sounds. If the neighbor complains, give them some free eggs, as a good will gesture.

God Bless :)
 

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