Cockerel and pullet behavior.... who does what?

[zowieyellowflame]

I have 11 chicks that are about 9 or 10 weeks old and 9 chicks that are 5 weeks old.
Many of the older bunch are doing a little chest thumping dance and the feathers are standing up on their necks.
The younger bunch has little flight competitions where 1 will be in each corner then they will jump and fly towards each other but not touch.
Is this stuff little roo behavior? If it is, I have a large number of roos!

 

[Q9]

I don't think so... Our four chicks are around 4 weeks old, and they have the flying contests. They're SUPPOSED to be pullets. Sometimes the big one will even jump and kick one that's being annoying. If it turns out we have a rooster... Well, the chickens are only $2.25.

 

[chickenguysmom]

I don't know about anyone else, but for me it was a good indicator. But I also had pullets do it too. I think it is a sign of aggression and a battle for supremacy (sp).

Depending on the breed you can look for other tell tale signs of future roo-ness. For me it was bigger, red-er combs and the pointy tail feathers. They also feathered in slower and then grew bigger.

This all happened between 2- 6 weeks. So by eight weeks we had them all sold. They are now about 16 weeks. So far all the girls we kept still look girly but two are still kind of aggressive and we think it is the breed and the fact that they were kept in with what we called the "wild boys".

I hope that helps. I know everyones experiences can be different so use what cha' can and ignore the rest of what I said.

 

[SushiLove]

My kids had flying contests and hide and seek games.
I really enjoyed watching the "Death from Above" maneuver. One chick would jump on top of the brooder light and lay in wait until another unsuspecting chick would walk by underneith and then BOOM! Sneak attack!!
Didn't matter what sex they were. They all enjoy playing, pouncing, and running about like crazy.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have older chickens than yours and they are still doing that, flighing across the run and chest bumping and short fights. If the flying is toward another chicken, it is meant to intimidate, though sometimes it is just to get to the other side quickly, especially if they think there is food there. The roosters fight more often so it may be an indicator but I would not bet the bank on all that do it being roosters. The flight thing seems more popular with my pullets than the roosters. You might try posting pictures in the breed and gender section on this forum and ask for opinions on gender, especially the older ones. As Chickenguysmom said, with some breeds it it easier than others but here are some real experts on here.

Good luck!

 

[krazycow6]

I have noticed that only my hens do the running and bumping thing. My roosters just scratch around until one of the hens crashes into them. lol. Then they show them the rooster flare and the hens stop for a few minutes. But they dont stay calm for long. Those girls are persistent.

 

[gritsar]

It's normal young chicken behavior. Both pullets and cockerels have to prove they are tough and fight for their place in the pecking order.

 

[chookchick]

I was told that only roos do the prolonged "fluff neck stare off". I have seen hens do it briefly, but only the roos do it a lot. Don't jump to any conclusions yet, I had one chicken that I was SURE was a cockerel based on her legs, stance, alerting behavior, but she is now laying beautiful blue eggs! By three months you should know, and let us know how they come out.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I have two hens that defy that rule. These two fight so bad from time to time, even my roo is reluctant to step in and break it up.

 

[kazjoy]

I was told that only roos do the prolonged "fluff neck stare off". I have seen hens do it briefly, but only the roos do it a lot. Don't jump to any conclusions yet, I had one chicken that I was SURE was a cockerel based on her legs, stance, alerting behavior, but she is now laying beautiful blue eggs! By three months you should know, and let us know how they come out.

thanks for your comment. I have two young ones that I have just seen stare each other and then do a little dip wing feather dance before the larger one chased the other one off. I am hopeful one would be a pullet