Help! Are these fertilized?!

[augustALIEN]

They look like hens. Do you have any other birds except those?

I do not. And I’m 1,000% sure they haven’t ever been in contact with other chickens. So now it’s a game of WHO’s really a roo?!

 

[augustALIEN]

They definitely look like they're being bred by something, some are bare or have minor feather loss at the saddle

I noticed that a month or so ago and chalked it up to mild molting or new feathers coming in as they were turning into adults.

 

[fluffycrow]

Could you posy close pictures of each bird individually? Really, at six months they shouldn't be so cryptic, but they're always exceptions to the rule

 

[augustALIEN]

Whatever happened with the previous posts you made about the chicks and suspecting a cockerel? Have you been watching that bird?

I always had that suspicion and then I took photos to show the guy at the feed store and he said yep looks like all hens. He also told me they wouldn’t lay until next spring and the next day they started laying so I guess that was my first sign he didn’t know what he was talking about.

 

[fluffycrow]

I always had that suspicion and then I took photos to show the guy at the feed store and he said yep looks like all hens. He also told me they wouldn’t lay until next spring and the next day they started laying so I guess that was my first sign he didn’t know what he was talking about.



Can you show us said bird?

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

I do feel like there's one with a little longer tail feathers, but I am bad at this game. Which one was your lighter chick with the big head spot?

 

[fluffycrow]

I have also noticed some irregularities, but those would apply to birds at 4 months, not laying and breeding age chickens

 

[augustALIEN]

I do feel like there's one with a little longer tail feathers, but I am bad at this game. Which one was your lighter chick with the big

I have also noticed some irregularities, but those would apply to birds at 4 months, not laying and breeding age chickens

This is what I get for buying from TSC.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

I always had that suspicion and then I took photos to show the guy at the feed store and he said yep looks like all hens. He also told me they wouldn’t lay until next spring and the next day they started laying so I guess that was my first sign he didn’t know what he was talking about.

Yeah, some birds will delay the onset of laying over winter until the days get longer again, some breeds will jump right in. If it's a breed that lays over winter, it may well start laying for you once they're ready, and the day length shouldn't affect them as much. My Welsummers started in November and never stopped!

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

This is what I get for buying from TSC.

TSC is a great place to start! I got my first five birds from there, and they were in fact all pullets. But mistakes do happen, especially when sexers may be looking for breed characteristics, where the birds are not super duper bred to the standard. But they still lay good eggs!