Does anything about Lucy say Rooster to you?

[Courtney134]

Ok.. so here is Lucy, whose comb over the past week and a half, has taken on a pinkish cast - as well as small waddles that have a pinkish cast. She is roughly 4 weeks old now. Nothing about her personality seems roo-ish to me, but then again - that white one (Mr. Bob) that you will see in a couple pics is pretty laid back, too, and he has a gigantic red comb for his young age (also 4 weeks). I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that Lucy is a she - I have no problem keeping ONE rooster, but I'd rather not have two. The only way I'd cull is if one is aggressive.

On another note - do you think these chicks are too small to put in with my other chicks, who are about 8 weeks now? Right now I put them outside in a dog cage during the day. We have a dog and woodsy animals that would think they are a great snack.

Thanks for your help!

 

[islandchickens]

Hard to tell at this point, but ours started out the same way. Slightly pink & now this weekend, attempts at crowing!

 

[Courtney134]

When do they start trying to crow? My son told me this morning that Mr. Bob was making weird screeching noises.

: Obviously I am new to this. My older chicks are RSLs, so there was no guessing involved in those girlies.

 

[Nicole01]

I'm going to say no, she's a pullet.

 

[chicmom]

I don't see anything roo-ish yet! I'm crossin' my fingers for ya that Lucy stays a Lucy!

 

[TroutsChicks]

I don't think lucy's a lucky at all! shes really dark.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

From your pictures Lucy's feathering does appear to be too dark to be a cockerel.

 

[Pele]

Barred breeds usually have the males lighter than the females (yours is very dark), but that can change when you are dealing with mixed breeds. Do I see some feathering on Lucy's legs? Do you know what she is supposed to be?

As far as mixing your birds, the earlier you do it, the better. Young birds are very accepting of new flock members, and the older they get, the less accepting they get. Put the dog cage in with the 8 week olds and let them look at/ talk to each other through the cage for a week. You should be able to mix them after that with no problems. They're close enough in age to deal with it well.

Hope that helps!

 

[gunnarmcc]

with a pink tinge to the comb could be a marans pullet if so you are very lucky for they can lay gorgeous gorgeous eggs

 

[Courtney134]

Yes, Lucy does have feathered legs - we have another one just like her, Susie, who is a bit smaller.

We got these from my DH's coworker - he had too many, and his wife said some had to go. I think these ones are the ones his grand-daughter gave him from 4H. I've been all over the net trying to figure out what they are, and the closet thing I can come up with is a Cuckoo Maran.

Thanks for your opinions!