Australorps breed Thread

[newchickmama1]

I'm a new chick mama and I have five 2 week old...what are supposed to be Black Australorp pullets. 4/5 have tail feathers beginning to come out, one that I'm not seeing. All 5 are the same size chick and they all have similar temperaments. I'm wondering if anyone can help me identify my chick in question because if 'she' is in fact a 'he' we need to re home him. Thank you for any help!

 

[duluthralphie]

I'm a new chick mama and I have five 2 week old...what are supposed to be Black Australorp pullets. 4/5 have tail feathers beginning to come out, one that I'm not seeing. All 5 are the same size chick and they all have similar temperaments. I'm wondering if anyone can help me identify my chick in question because if 'she' is in fact a 'he' we need to re home him. Thank you for any help!

Welcome to BYC!

It will be hard to tell at that age for me. But if 5 have little tails and one does not, it could mean 4 boys......sorry...






Turk you will love having australorps. I use mine is many of the weird mixes I try. They are extremely hardy for me, with the exception of the single comb. I am still working on making an Australorp with a pea comb, but that is not going as well as it should. I am getting bleed through red in many even in F3 and f4.


I know this is not something most purist like to hear, but in Minnesota the single comb gets such severe frostbite it makes them hard to raise. The Australorp has so many traits I like and want so I will keep trying. BTW a BA hen raising Guinea Keets makes them into almost good barnyard citizens. They commit 60% less crime than Guineas raised by Guineas or on the street.

 

[RattlesnakeRidgeWV]

Give it 2 to 3 more weeks and we will be able to tell the difference between the boys and girls, for sure. Just give us some better head shots.
Kurt

 

[ronott1]

I'm a new chick mama and I have five 2 week old...what are supposed to be Black Australorp pullets. 4/5 have tail feathers beginning to come out, one that I'm not seeing. All 5 are the same size chick and they all have similar temperaments. I'm wondering if anyone can help me identify my chick in question because if 'she' is in fact a 'he' we need to re home him. Thank you for any help!

If you bought them as pullets from the feed store, then there is a 92% chance that the chick is a female.

Do not sweat it now.

Tail feathers are not a factor because they are not a sexlinked cross. You usually know by 6 to 10 weeks, so sometime in early Sept. you should know the gender.

 

[bruceha2000]

Not that I want to disagree with you @ronott1 given I know you have a ton more experience than I do but:

The hatcheries only "guarantee" 90% accuracy.
The feed stores get chicks from the hatcheries.
Once the birds hit the feed store, the employees and customers may not be rigorous in making sure any chick put back in a pen came OUT of that pen.

Thus I would say 92% is optimistic.

@newchickmama1 They can mature at different rates. My 2 BA pullets from Ideal in 2012 were quite different at 2 weeks. Made me NERVOUS as a first time "chicken dad". Turns out one was just going to be a BIG chicken. Her coloring, including legs and skin is pure BA but she could give a BJG hen a run for her money on size. This is a REALLY BAD picture at 10 days old. The one standing tall and the black one on the right are the BAs


And here they are at about 3 weeks. Note the stubby tail on the one on the left compared to the tail on the one on the right:

 

[appps]

I'm a new chick mama and I have five 2 week old...what are supposed to be Black Australorp pullets. 4/5 have tail feathers beginning to come out, one that I'm not seeing. All 5 are the same size chick and they all have similar temperaments. I'm wondering if anyone can help me identify my chick in question because if 'she' is in fact a 'he' we need to re home him. Thank you for any help!

Australorp females are supposed to get their tails and feathers first aren't they, sure it was the opposite of what you would think? So more likely 4 girls than 4 boys. That said I had two hatch and they feathered and got tails in at very different rates and the one feathering to be an expected boy was much more outgoing and roo like in behaviour. That ones comb is much (like twice the size) bigger than the other They are now both laying lol.

Give it a bit more time before rehoming

 

[duluthralphie]

Australorp females are supposed to get their tails and feathers first aren't they, sure it was the opposite of what you would think? So more likely 4 girls than 4 boys. That said I had two hatch and they feathered and got tails in at very different rates and the one feathering to be an expected boy was much more outgoing and roo like in behaviour. That ones comb is much (like twice the size) bigger than the other They are now both laying lol.

Give it a bit more time before rehoming

This could be true too, When they crow, I know....90% of the time.

 

[bruceha2000]

True Ralphie! Though I was still sure Echo was female when she started crowing around 2 years of age. Several hundred eggs don't lie.

 

[duluthralphie]

True Ralphie! Though I was still sure Echo was female when she started crowing around 2 years of age. Several hundred eggs don't lie.

Hence the 90%!

I have this years group of BA's free ranging I know one of them is crowing, but he never does it in front of me. I think he knows he goes to the bus stop to wait for the freezer camp bus if I catch him.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Originally Posted by newchickmama1
I'm wondering if anyone can help me identify my chick in question because if 'she' is in fact a 'he' we need to re home him. Thank you for any help!
Like Most New Mamas ....Patience will be rewarded ....you will know in time ..
And Some Roos also find their way into your heart ...