Barnyard Surprises

[RUNuts]

Peanut gallery.

 

[RUNuts]

boy
girl
undecided

If I said the last 2 were the same chick, just in shade then sun, does that change the undecided or girl vote? Thank you for your input.

So, the cockerel looking ones are more food inquisitive and braver, maybe not the right word, the first to run for meal worms. Trying to make friends with the pullets, but they get pushed out of the way.

At what point do you segregate the sexes? Meat camp on one side and potential future layers to the other?

The boy above is whitey. So no white layers in this batch. Still hopeful on a couple of the grey ones being pullets. Barring showing up in quite a few of them.

 

[Mosey2003]

As soon as you can tell them apart is a good time to start separating. The boys will push the girls away from the feed.

 

[Molpet]

If I said the last 2 were the same chick, just in shade then sun, does that change the undecided or girl vote? Thank you for your input.

So, the cockerel looking ones are more food inquisitive and braver, maybe not the right word, the first to run for meal worms. Trying to make friends with the pullets, but they get pushed out of the way.

At what point do you segregate the sexes? Meat camp on one side and potential future layers to the other?

The boy above is whitey. So no white layers in this batch. Still hopeful on a couple of the grey ones being pullets. Barring showing up in quite a few of them.

then I change undecided to girl.... I am going by comb size, which in my meat mutts works about 80%
I have broody hens raise the chicks. I am usually evaluating males for breeding. I take them out at 12 wks or when they start chasing the pullets. I like leaving a breeder cockerel as long as I can with the flock to learn some manners. Last years I picked and left with the flock ended up not being what I was looking for. I wish I had waited until 16 wks to make my final choices. But they ended up being backup breeders so I didn't need them anyway.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

If I said the last 2 were the same chick, just in shade then sun, does that change the undecided or girl vote? Thank you for your input.

So, the cockerel looking ones are more food inquisitive and braver, maybe not the right word, the first to run for meal worms. Trying to make friends with the pullets, but they get pushed out of the way.

At what point do you segregate the sexes? Meat camp on one side and potential future layers to the other?

The boy above is whitey. So no white layers in this batch. Still hopeful on a couple of the grey ones being pullets. Barring showing up in quite a few of them.

I've always left them all together. About the time the males start getting amorous it's time for freezer camp. I free feed. There has never been an issue over food or anything else. I've raised a few hundred chickens this way. Not much by some standards but enough to make me the crazy chicken lady in my neighborhood

 

[RUNuts]

Here is the first day on grass. 23 growing and quite a few boys.

 

[UThobbyfarmer]

Here is the first day on grass. 23 growing and quite a few boys. View attachment 1822521

View attachment 1822522

They look great! Happy and healthy.

I'm not sure if you're in a position to keep roosters. The Barred Rock cross roos I've had were some of the best roosters ever. Sweet, quite, handsome, and just lovely to be around. I have no idea their official cross. Just some layer type mixed flock.

 

[RUNuts]

Unfortunately, no roosters. I've decided to move. Waiting on Crazy Lady to move with me. Give me a couple decades... These are Dominique heritage. Same feathers, different comb. Chicken Rancher likes Dominiques.

Hoping the white one (Delaware?) was a pullet. Pretty sure he is not.

Had Ideal hatchery Barred Rocks for some of my first flock. Gorgeous. Liked the jailbird stripes. So first year were Barred Rocks, Leghorns with a few red ones. Guessing RIR or Hew Hampshire hens, but really don't know. Decided to down size when I was covered with eggs. Guy wanted the brown layers and so did I. I kept the Leghorns. Then added the blue layers. Now back to brown eggs. And more egg customers. This is a hobby, I assure you, I sell eggs to keep more chickens and I'm pushing my luck as it stands.

Leghorns are 2 years old and are culled this fall. We will have 6 EEs + 1 Black with the hens from this hatch. Cockerels going to gumbo. Got to choose between cockerels or CX for the fall or next spring

 

[RUNuts]

Finally did a count. I think we are at 10 cockerels and 13 pullets. The red ones appear to be pullets. The whiter ones are the cockerels. Integrating with the layers is going well.

Comparison to CX at 7 weeks is different. These are smaller (real small compared to CX) and growing well. Healthy and eating grass. The appetites are good. Not quite the feeding frenzy of the CX. Also, watching the 7 week old ones interact with the layers is interesting.

Most put themselves to bed in their tractor. Wrangled 7 to get them with the others. They were running around peeping. All settled in. Happy that most were able to find bed. I moved their tractor from the garden to the layer area, so this was a new experience for everyone. For comparison, the CX would bed down everywhere. Sun goes down, they would find a spot and squat. And not move.

 

[Kiki]

Finally did a count. I think we are at 10 cockerels and 13 pullets. The red ones appear to be pullets. The whiter ones are the cockerels. Integrating with the layers is going well.

Comparison to CX at 7 weeks is different. These are smaller (real small compared to CX) and growing well. Healthy and eating grass. The appetites are good. Not quite the feeding frenzy of the CX. Also, watching the 7 week old ones interact with the layers is interesting.

Most put themselves to bed in their tractor. Wrangled 7 to get them with the others. They were running around peeping. All settled in. Happy that most were able to find bed. I moved their tractor from the garden to the layer area, so this was a new experience for everyone. For comparison, the CX would bed down everywhere. Sun goes down, they would find a spot and squat. And not move.

Is the quail one a boy?