DanielJZ
In the Brooder
- Jun 4, 2015
- 10
- 0
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About two months ago my family and I purchased a Blue Ameraucana and and Easter Egger who were supposed to be pullets at 8 weeks of age.
We introduced them to our flock of 4 RIR's at about 13 weeks and they have been going through the pecking order.
Right now they should be 16 weeks old, but the EE has changed dramatically. The EE and BA were around the same size when we first got them but since then the EE has grown much larger than the BA and right now seems to be even bigger than our 9 month old RIR's.
At first we thought this particular breed just happened to be larger, but this past week or so the EE started pouncing on the backs of my RIR's while holding their heads down with its beak in their neck feathers. At first we thought it was just getting back at them for all the pecking and chasing while they were re-establishing the pecking order, but now we're thinking this looks like rooster type mating behavior. I think that the EE has even started to look more and more like a rooster. We're hoping this won't be the case with our BA.
I was hoping someone could identify their gender from some photos and also confirm whether the EE's behavior is that of a roosters.
The above photos are of the Easter Egger.
These next photos are of my Blue Ameraucana and a side by side comparison next to the Easter Egger.
I hope someone could possibly identify their gender. I'm thinking the EE may turn out to be a rooster
due to its behavior, but I'm hoping that at least the BA will turn out to be a hen.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks.
We introduced them to our flock of 4 RIR's at about 13 weeks and they have been going through the pecking order.
Right now they should be 16 weeks old, but the EE has changed dramatically. The EE and BA were around the same size when we first got them but since then the EE has grown much larger than the BA and right now seems to be even bigger than our 9 month old RIR's.
At first we thought this particular breed just happened to be larger, but this past week or so the EE started pouncing on the backs of my RIR's while holding their heads down with its beak in their neck feathers. At first we thought it was just getting back at them for all the pecking and chasing while they were re-establishing the pecking order, but now we're thinking this looks like rooster type mating behavior. I think that the EE has even started to look more and more like a rooster. We're hoping this won't be the case with our BA.
I was hoping someone could identify their gender from some photos and also confirm whether the EE's behavior is that of a roosters.
The above photos are of the Easter Egger.
These next photos are of my Blue Ameraucana and a side by side comparison next to the Easter Egger.
I hope someone could possibly identify their gender. I'm thinking the EE may turn out to be a rooster
due to its behavior, but I'm hoping that at least the BA will turn out to be a hen.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks.
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