Do pullets ruffle neck feathers too?

[prekteacher]

I have 4 eight week old chicks. They were supposed to be pullets but I know for sure 1 is a roo. Now I am seeing the ruffled neck feathers in another smaller chick when confronted with the roo looking chick that also Ruffles his neck feathers.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Yes, pullets will puff up their necks and spar too. I only see one cockerel in your pics, the black /white one with the obvious comb. The others look like girls so far.

 

[HnkyDnkyZZFarm]

How bout feet? Anybody getting feathery heels? What types of chicks are they? I was able to spot my drake in my duck flock because his beak changed color his feet were orange and he got his tail feather. Before that, There was little difference. He may have been bigger but not noticeably so.

I had a couple barred rock chicks I SWORE up and down were roos for awhile, but they're laying They were the daring members of the hatch, and because they were so outgoing, I couldn't imagine them being hens.

My neighbors gold hen ruffles her entire body. She literally doubles in size when peeved, going brrrrrrr-bawk-bawk-bawk-bawk!

 

[donrae]

I only see the one cockerel, everyone else is female.

Unsolicited advice---those birds are well big enough to be outside. They look like they need more space. Ruffling feathers can be from overcrowding, and you might be dealing with pecking here soon.

 

[prekteacher]

Thanks for the advise. I'm feeling more assured that there is only 1 roo. The chicks are outside in a dog run in the day, and I put them in the house at night to sleep as it still gets cold at night. Their coop is nearly finished and hopefully they will be out there in a few days. The lady I got them from said they were Ameraucanas but I think they are EE's.