Black Minorca Pullet

[chiknwhisperer]

OK heres the thing. For one my male and female Black minorcas are 11 weeks old and compared to my other chickens that I have had they are half the size. They look like bantams but they are supposed to be big chickens. They were ordered from Ideal through a local feed store. But my cockerel is handsome as can be nad has this huge comb and wattles and his white ear lobes are coming in great. But my pullet on the other hand still has a very small comb that has little specks of black at the tips of it and her wattles are Very small and there is no white at all on her earlobes. What gives? Has anyone ever had this happen to them? Is there a reason for me to be concerned?

 

[sara]

You could post a picture. I will say the black minorca hen I had, beyond being totally crazy, was not a very large bird.

 

[chiknwhisperer]

I'm going to try to post one this afternoon. It sjust weird because everything I have read says they should get to the size of a leghorn.

 

[chiknwhisperer]

I found two recent pics on my camera.

This is my little girl.

And this is my ever so handsome boy.

 

[flyingmonkeypoop]

It seems that in the mediteranian breeds the hens dont get the white earlobes until they are a few months old and the combs dont start to flop until they are about 5-6 months old.

 

[chiknwhisperer]

So there is no need to worry about her then? What about the very small size of them? Do they go through a growth spurt or something? My roo is only about a pound in weight if that. He is very tiny compared to all the other roos I have had.

 

[jorgey]

I have some Black Minorcas that I got from McMurray and they just turned 11 weeks old last Saturday. Mine look exactly like yours. They are some great looking birds, although I thought that mine were a little small too, but I guess not. My rooster is already crowing up a storm and showing his dominance over everyone.

 

[TexasChickenLady]

I had never heard of this breed, Minorca! My f. I. L.'s ancestors are from Minorca and so my husband would find this really cool, where did you get them from? Reckin' it'll be too cold here for them in Texas.

 

[jossanne]

My black minorca pullet from McMurray is 16 weeks, and her ears are just now obviously white. They were almost black for a long time. Her comb and wattles were mostly black too, but now the comb just has black on the tips and the wattles are red. This week her comb has really started growing, and so I'm hoping she'll start laying SOON!