golden comet chick sexing and feed

[Kyguylal]

Hi all, i just picked up 7 golden comets. Am I correct in thinking that they are able to be fairly accurately sexed as hatchling because they're sex linked chicks?

I bought them as 90% female. There is one which looks pretty light colored (top left in photo). Any GC experts who can take a look at this photo?

Also, they were vaccinated and I have both medicated and non medicated starter feed. Should I only feed the non medicated feed? I've gotten two answers from the grain store.

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

I think I see one or two cockerels. The white or light yellow ones are always boys. Medicated feed is for preventing coccidia in chicks since they are susceptible to it. You could use it if you want your chicks to not get coccidia, even though some times they still get it. Or you could just use normal feed. I've used normal feed with no problem. The chickens devolop natural resistance as they grow up.

 

[Kyguylal]

Thank you. The rest seem darker. I have attached another photo with better views of them.

Its again, that left most chick who looks light. The rest seem darker. Time will tell.

They were vaccinated for coccidiosis. Will the medicated food counteract the treatment?

 

[Nelson-Collier]

Thank you. The rest seem darker. I have attached another photo with better views of them.

Its again, that left most chick who looks light. The rest seem darker. Time will tell.

They were vaccinated for coccidiosis. Will the medicated food counteract the treatment?

View attachment 2171581

I have 8 golden comets. They lay AMAZING. They don’t even stop during the cold weather! I had a few almost white ones that I thought were a rooster. I’ve got all females. It’s better off to let professionals sex them or just wait for them to grow up

 

[Kyguylal]

I have 8 golden comets. They lay AMAZING. They don’t even stop during the cold weather! I had a few almost white ones that I thought were a rooster. I’ve got all females. It’s better off to let professionals sex them or just wait for them to grow up

Good to hear! They're in for some cold, long winters here in NH, but I figure they're a hardy bird.

I'm going to wait it out and see what they turn into. If we have a rooster, we have a farm down the road who takes them to live with his flock.

Looking forward to watching these girls grow

 

[Nelson-Collier]

Good to hear! They're in for some cold, long winters here in NH, but I figure they're a hardy bird.

I'm going to wait it out and see what they turn into. If we have a rooster, we have a farm down the road who takes them to live with his flock.

Looking forward to watching these girls grow

Do you have any other chickens? My only advice with the coop, if you don’t mind me sharing some, is avoid putting a heat lamp or heat source in the coop... my coop during the winter gets about 20 degrees or so, inside and out. The chickens are protected from wind and rain. They produce their own body heat very well and don’t need extra heat. I usually stuff it with wheat straw to provide for more insulation. I haven’t lost a hen. The cool weather and the lack of heat lamp makes them hardier and stronger; mine develop beautiful plumage during the winter months and the spring time. They lay better and are very healthy. Just my opinion though

 

[Kyguylal]

Do you have any other chickens? My only advice with the coop, if you don’t mind me sharing some, is avoid putting a heat lamp or heat source in the coop... my coop during the winter gets about 20 degrees or so, inside and out. The chickens are protected from wind and rain. They produce their own body heat very well and don’t need extra heat. I usually stuff it with wheat straw to provide for more insulation. I haven’t lost a hen. The cool weather and the lack of heat lamp makes them hardier and stronger; mine develop beautiful plumage during the winter months and the spring time. They lay better and are very healthy. Just my opinion though

Thanks for the advice! These are our first. After seeing the 1/2" plywood coops for sale, I decided to build my own and I'm insulating it pretty heavily and wasn't planning on a heat source. We aren't far north in the state, so we really don't get too cold. A regular winter low would be around 10 degrees (f) and low wind chills around negative 10 or so. Snow from October until early May. From what I've heard, they'll be fine.

We just had a bald eagle perch atop one of our pines, a fox last night, and a pack of coyotes come through this morning, so I'm making this coop heavy duty.

 

[FuzzyCritters]

All of those look like pullets. Males are very light yellow, almost white, with no red on them, and all of yours have red down. Even the lightest one still has reddish down around her face and wings.

 

[NuggetTheChicken]

Feeding medicated feed won't contradict the vaccination

 

[Nelson-Collier]

Thanks for the advice! These are our first. After seeing the 1/2" plywood coops for sale, I decided to build my own and I'm insulating it pretty heavily and wasn't planning on a heat source. We aren't far north in the state, so we really don't get too cold. A regular winter low would be around 10 degrees (f) and low wind chills around negative 10 or so. Snow from October until early May. From what I've heard, they'll be fine.

We just had a bald eagle perch atop one of our pines, a fox last night, and a pack of coyotes come through this morning, so I'm making this coop heavy duty.

Good to hear. Me and my dad built our coop. It can easily fit over 100 chickens at night but we have 8! I’ve lost no chickens but I gave one away Because it was being bullied near to death. I’d like to know - what are you using for insulation? I would also recommend raising the coop and having an area about 2 feet of headspace underneath for shade in the summer. If you decide to go the run route instead of free ranging you can attach the run. Here’s my coop from the side view