- Thread starter
- #31
CharliesGarden
Chirping
I might be crazy, but I feel like the second batch of crossbreeds is growing much faster than the first. I think that's probably because I took daily photos of the first ones for about a month, and the younger ones have had weekly picture days.
I moved all the teens, crossbreed and Phoenix, into a bigger pen, and added my rescue Game hen in with them. They've all done really well together, as long as the teens don't get in the hen's way or try to square up with her.
I am surprised by the amount of red on the younger Duckwing cockerel. I can't wait to see how he turns out. We have two Duckwing pullets, but he's the first boy of the color. The older the birds get, the easier it is to tell the older Duckwing pullet from the Phoenix pullets of the same age. She's got a red breast, which makes her stand out, but she's also developing a much more Game-like posture. The other pullets generally hold their tails out semi-horizontally behind them, while this girl holds hers at an angle that makes her obvious. Otherwise they look relatively the same, although sometimes it looks as though she's got longer legs than the others, but I don't know if that's true or just a way my brain sets her apart.
At nearly 3 months, the boys are starting to get rowdy. I am a bit worried that I will need to separate them all at some point. So far, they haven't had any aggression with each other, but they've started bucking up to the older hen and attempting to breed the pullets. They are bolder and more determined than the Phoenix cockerels, which makes sense, and I'm hoping they'll calm down as time passes.
Out of our youngest chicks, three American Games, it appears we have two cockerels and one pullet. I'm not totally sure on this, as none of them have obviously roo-like characteristics, but the larger two have bad attitudes already. With the Phoenix chicks, they all looked relatively similar until around the 1 month or so mark, the crosses were fairly obvious as pullets and cockerels at a couple weeks, but I'm really not sure with these guys. I feel like the larger ones with mean streaks "should" be boys, because they stand straighter and are already trying to square up with myself and my large hens (in the next pen), but for all I know I could be completely wrong and Game pullets could be meaner and feather faster than the cockerels.
For some reason, the "pullet" is much smaller than her brothers, and only has a nub of a tail, versus her brothers who began growing out their tails almost immediately. I plan to hang onto the pullet to add more large white eggs to my evening basket, but I think I'll have to let her brothers go. I'll probably keep at least one of them until maturity, to see how they compare to their father, and then make a final decision on them then. Hopefully they calm down as well, both "boys" are already a bit aggressive to me when I feed them. They won't be staying if they can't be reasonable, no matter how pretty they become.
I moved all the teens, crossbreed and Phoenix, into a bigger pen, and added my rescue Game hen in with them. They've all done really well together, as long as the teens don't get in the hen's way or try to square up with her.
I am surprised by the amount of red on the younger Duckwing cockerel. I can't wait to see how he turns out. We have two Duckwing pullets, but he's the first boy of the color. The older the birds get, the easier it is to tell the older Duckwing pullet from the Phoenix pullets of the same age. She's got a red breast, which makes her stand out, but she's also developing a much more Game-like posture. The other pullets generally hold their tails out semi-horizontally behind them, while this girl holds hers at an angle that makes her obvious. Otherwise they look relatively the same, although sometimes it looks as though she's got longer legs than the others, but I don't know if that's true or just a way my brain sets her apart.
At nearly 3 months, the boys are starting to get rowdy. I am a bit worried that I will need to separate them all at some point. So far, they haven't had any aggression with each other, but they've started bucking up to the older hen and attempting to breed the pullets. They are bolder and more determined than the Phoenix cockerels, which makes sense, and I'm hoping they'll calm down as time passes.
Out of our youngest chicks, three American Games, it appears we have two cockerels and one pullet. I'm not totally sure on this, as none of them have obviously roo-like characteristics, but the larger two have bad attitudes already. With the Phoenix chicks, they all looked relatively similar until around the 1 month or so mark, the crosses were fairly obvious as pullets and cockerels at a couple weeks, but I'm really not sure with these guys. I feel like the larger ones with mean streaks "should" be boys, because they stand straighter and are already trying to square up with myself and my large hens (in the next pen), but for all I know I could be completely wrong and Game pullets could be meaner and feather faster than the cockerels.
For some reason, the "pullet" is much smaller than her brothers, and only has a nub of a tail, versus her brothers who began growing out their tails almost immediately. I plan to hang onto the pullet to add more large white eggs to my evening basket, but I think I'll have to let her brothers go. I'll probably keep at least one of them until maturity, to see how they compare to their father, and then make a final decision on them then. Hopefully they calm down as well, both "boys" are already a bit aggressive to me when I feed them. They won't be staying if they can't be reasonable, no matter how pretty they become.
