Could my "she" be a "he"? Help!

[TeamChaos]

Your "chickie" looks identical to my "chippy"- a confirmed, egg laying hen who is also pushy and bossy to her flockmates- a total change from her baby personality.

 

[herefordlovinglady]

I say both are Lovely Ladies....

 

[texasgal]

Quote:
X2

 

[Pequena Bandada]

Both look just like my egg laying pullets. Chickie just developed quicker than the other one. She's probably going to lay eggs soon.

 

[donnie]

i say both are hens , due to being EE some of thier combs will come out bigger than others ,

 

[AllCoop'dUp]

Maybe it's just me, but I've noticed that instead of all my pullets looking the same, there's always one per breed that tends to stand out as more mature then the others. ie...gets redder comb/wattles then the others. For example. I have 2 Light Brahma's one is super red and laying the other isn't. 5 BO's one started laying before the other 4. 6 RIR's, again, one got brighter and redder then the other 5. They were all purchased at the same time and all the same age. I did a quick internet search on animal pheromones and found this article. Thought it was interesting

Pheromones in birds: myth or reality?

Caro SP, Balthazart J.

Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Abstract
Birds are anosmic or at best microsmatic… This misbelief persisted until very recently and has strongly influenced the outcome of communication studies in birds, with olfaction remaining neglected as compared to acoustic and visual channels. However, there is now clear empirical evidence showing that olfaction is perfectly functional in birds and birds use olfactory information in a variety of ethological contexts. Although the existence of pheromones has never been formally demonstrated in this vertebrate class, different groups of birds, such as petrels, auklets and ducks have been shown to produce specific scents that could play a significant role in within-species social interactions. Behavioral experiments have indeed demonstrated that these odors influence the behavior of conspecifics. Additionally, in quail, deprivation of olfactory inputs decreases neuronal activation induced by sexual interactions with a female. It seems therefore well established that birds enjoy a functional sense of smell and a fast growing body of experimental evidence suggests that they use this channel of olfactory communication to control their social life. The unequivocal identification of an avian pheromone is, however, still ahead of us but there are now many exciting opportunities to unravel the behavioral and physiological particularities of chemical communication in birds.

 

[featherz]

I say both girls. That's female EE coloring and the tail looks female also. I have two almost identical EE girls and they are about 20 weeks old and are starting to redden up.

 

[mrsbos]

Thank you all for such swift replies! As long as no one is crowing, I'll just assume they're all girls and be eagerly awaiting my first egg. I had originally read that hens didn't lay until around 6 months old. Because of that, the short days of winter, and the fact that they're EEs, I wasn't even going to start looking for eggs until around February. Now, some of you have gotten me all egg giddy. I guess it wouldn't hurt to start checking the nesting box on occasion

This forum is the best!

 

[donrae]

Another vote for girls, due to the color. Roos just aren't that drab. Keep a lookout for eggs, shouldn't be long!

 

[Chick Charm]

I vote two girls. I think EE's typically take longer than most breed to start laying. HOWEVER , I think one of your girls is an early bird. I would venture to say that soon that comb is going to get a deeper red to it and then, "what do you know, AN EGG".