Australorps breed Thread

[Saerasx]

UH OH.  By these pics I may actually have a roo instead of 5 13 day old pullet chicks from Cackle Hatchery.  One has a comb like that but none of the others do at all.   I will try to get  pics tomorrow.  Haven't quite regained use of my left hand yet from a nasty fall last week but I will take them ASAP.  This could be a very interesting experiment.  Hope there are several participants!

I'm beginning to think my two BAs are older than suspected but not by much. It's funny though because they seem to be feathering out the same but one is much bigger than the other. The bigger of the two has virtually no comb but the smaller has a pointy comb developing. No color and it's small but I definitely noticed! When hubby gets home hopefully I can get pics of both. Oh and they both have black wash on the legs....they love me (mealworm mama) but everything outside the brooder is way more exciting to sit still

 

[iwiw60]

Hello Everyone!

I've been reading in here but not posting as I was waiting for things to settle down. Had a horrific winter but things are better now. I have enjoyed the pics you have all posted especially of your chicks lately. Very cute. My two BA girls just had their first birthday on 4-26-2014. Time flies and looking at your chick pics made me long to have some more chicks. But the two of us here alone cannot keep up with consuming eggs from three hens as it is so it wouldn't be prudent. Anyway, I wanted to post pics of my girls from their birthday. It was a nice day so I was able to take a few shots. But I am not a very good photographer so out of a dozen these are the best. LOL Take them for what they are worth and all that.

I really do love Peppa and Bella but my 4 year old Barr Rock, Betsy, is my favorite. She never pecks me. But having said that, I have hope that Peppa and Bella will settle down as they mature as Betsy has done. Much like dogs the first few years before they mellow out I believe. Although personality does play a role for sure. Peppa is much like a roo watching over "her flock". hahaha. Bella is focused on one thing only. Food! Betsy is the boss and will peck the BA's if they peck me or if they don't mind their business where she is concerned. So that is my trio.
All my best,
~Dee~

Happy 1st Birthday Bella & Peppa!

 

[DeesHens]

Wow! Thanks so much! That was outstanding. ~Dee~

 

[Saerasx]

No one was behaving for me today but I think I got some OK shots- sorry for the one blurry head shot. That Chuck is the bigger one and doesn't have much of a comb at all. I'm also sticking a link for a video that might give a better look. I'm also worried my cuckoo is a roo too- but I'll put that in a different section

 

[Bens-Hens]

One of mine from Cackle had a bigger comb early and was a pullet.

They are over 90% accurate at sexing them. Unless the chick is obviously a Roo then do not stress over it.

Yes, I'm not suggestion now that you need to remove birds or anything, I would just like to have a few people offer up BA's around this age, then we can have a bit of a pool of birds from different places and see if this method is reliable outside of one breeder.

No stress, just a few pics so we can work with it. Unless you know what pics to get at what age we will never be able to test the theory.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Hello Everyone!

But I am not a very good photographer so out of a dozen these are the best. LOL Take them for what they are worth and all that.

All my best,
~Dee~

Happy 1st Birthday Bella & Peppa!

Those are nice pics of pretty girls ....Glad you peeped up ...
Sell those eggs ...once they get fresh eggs they will be hooked ...

 

[Gramma Chick]

No one was behaving for me today but I think I got some OK shots- sorry for the one blurry head shot. That Chuck is the bigger one and doesn't have much of a comb at all. I'm also sticking a link for a video that might give a better look. I'm also worried my cuckoo is a roo too- but I'll put that in a different section

I love this one with the stripes on the breast .
Where they sexed as pullets where you got them from ?
Girls sometimes look like boys when young as each ones comb can grow at different stages . ( may look larger or smaller as it grows )
My chickie that we hatched ...I thought was a boy because of the comb....im pretty sure at 3 months it is a pullet.

 

[getaclue]

Happy Birthday Bella & Pepper!

 

[Saerasx]

I love this one with the stripes on the breast .
Where they sexed as pullets where you got them from ?
Girls sometimes look like boys when young as each ones comb can grow at different stages . ( may look larger or smaller as it grows )
My chickie that we hatched ...I thought was a boy because of the comb....im pretty sure at 3 months it is a pullet.

The striped one is a total love bug! And yes they were all sold as pullets (I reserved them from a local chicken store)

 

[DeesHens]

Quote:
Thank you very much Gramma Chick.
More likely I'd give the eggs away as I'm not much for selling things by nature.

~Dee~

Happy Birthday Bella & Pepper!

Hello getaclue. Thanks for celebrating with us.

Hey everyone: RE: discussing the look of the pullet vs the roo.

If you compare my two hens in the above pic you will note that they have very different facial features. Same age. Same breed. Etc. Interesting, no?
When they were chicks I was not sure for a little while whether Peppa (on the right) was a roo or not for sure. Compared to Bella early on she had redder, larger wattles, comb, etc.
We also had a same age roo chick at the time and Peppa was similar to him. Acted like him too. They did chest bumps, etc. She still acts a bit like a roo at times.
She is the watcher and more aggressive. Anyway, I find it interesting that some girls are like "tomboys" I guess you may say. So if you have a chick you aren't sure about just wait to see.
Of course, neither of mine had the larger legs of a roo so that was another clue as well.

Also, I have heard that if you do not have a roo among your hens that one of them will take on that role. Is there any truth in that? Peppa would be a good example if so.

Keep the pics coming. Enjoy them so much.

Hey Ron. If you read this. I would love to see pics of your older BA hens (4 YO) sometime. TIA

All my best,
~Dee~