Do little hens-to-be act this way!?

[Hens4Fun]

I know I will ultimately have to wait probably, but anxious because I live in the city and roosters sadly are not welcome...and both were supposed to be sexed

My first nine hens never acted THIS way...certainly not at 5-6 weeks which is the age of these chicks.

These two square off all the time .... both are bullies ... one a Black Cochin & one an EE

HEAD SHOTS:

Too young to tell? Is the behavior appropriate for pecking order? Or do I have potentially have two cockerels on my hands

 

[Goose and Fig]

Their legs look roo-ish, but the combs sure don't. Girls will play fight too, just not as often. I'd give them more time. What cute action pics!

 

[Buff Hooligans]

That's a great action shot! I bet they settle the hierarchy issues sometime soon though... Don't worry.

 

[flakey chick]

The EE has very thick legs which make me think roo. I can't tell how thick under the feathers on the other one.

 

[Hens4Fun]

Hope it IS hierachy issues

And yes ... the EE has very thick legs. I have two others I got the same day. In the beginning I thought this one to be a runt, smaller, slower to feather, not as active .....then, boom, it is now bigger than the other two EEs and it's head bigger than the chicks that were a week or so older but different varieties (incidentally, even when it was the smallest in the brooder it had attitude and picked on the bigger chicks

). The black cochin has legs similar to my white, which I'm hoping is the pretty girl I want it to be. Sigh... what will be will be, but I hate to lose chicks I have grown attached too

 

[Year of the Rooster]

The dark one is a rooster. You can tell by his feathering. He has bald spots on his shoulders and other parts of his body. Roosters' feathers don't grow in as fast as a hen's.

 

[Hens4Fun]

well, shooooot .... that explains why the white cochin is almost two weeks ahead on feathering out. Sighhhhhhh I had wondered why the black one was so slow to feather.

 

[Guinea Goonie]

I dunno. I have had a few black chicken hens fight in adult hood. I think one is an australorp and the other a NJG.

I see them fighting every so often. Who know what for, but there ya have it.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Quote:
But yours are ADULTS. There is a major age difference between the OP's and yours. Not to mention the breeds. The OP's bird is a Dark Brahma from the looks of it. The roosters of that breed are slow growers.

 

[Hens4Fun]

well now I am more confused. So you think one is not an EE, eh? I looked at some pictures and I'm guessing you think this one may be a Dark Brahma

Would that explain why it is suddenly bigger than the other two "EE's" I thought it was related too? It does have different coloring (they are more brown), and is a good bit bigger now than the other two. Do I have hope of it being a bossy female?

Any other guesses or opinions out there