Don't know what breed she is! Help!

[Amalthea]

I bought Regina (pictured chicken) and a blue d'uccle at the same time. The man there didn't know what breed she was and thought that it might be a d'uccle of a different color. Help me find out what breed she is please and thank you!

 

[chooks4life]

Sorry, I don't know, and it may be a bit soon to tell breed. I've never had purebred d'Uccles either...

However, I do believe it is a rooster. The crest is already red. Also the secondaries have grown out before the primaries, which is another trait commonly associated with males. As far as I'm aware most females have longer primaries and their primaries and secondaries tend to grow out close to one another whereas a lot of males grow secondaries to begin with, then later the primaries catch up.

 

[Amalthea]

Oh no! I just bought another male because I was told that I would need more than one for my 15 girl flock! The men at the feed store said they were all pullets, now I am kind of upset!
It would also explain her aggressive behavior though. She tends to bow up to everyone (and most are more than double her size!)

 

[chooks4life]

Now you get a choice of males. Really it shouldn't be a problem to raise an extra cockerel, 15 hens is 5 hens each, and the older boys will keep him in his place. If you're ever intending to increase your flock you'll already have the extra rooster for the extra hens. He also might turn out to be better than the males you already have... But if you don't want another male the hatchery or breeder should likely take him back and swap you another, hopefully female, one. The old breed books would recommend an average of five hens per male to ensure good fertility, since roosters are prone to keep mating when they've got nothing left, if you know what I mean...

 

[drumstick diva]

I'd say cockerel also