- Apr 12, 2016
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- 9
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Hi, I am new to chickens & came upon the Icelandic breed quite by accident & decided that's what I wanted to raise. The eggs hatched the first week of March. Since I know nothing of chickens I've read a lot & from what I can tell they seem to progress faster than other breeds. They were fully feathered earlier, combs & wattles on the roos (I think they are roos anyway) were red by 4 weeks & crowing @ 5 weeks. Out of the 11 I have I think 8 are roos because their combs & wattles are red, the other 3 are still pink or flesh colored. Since they all look so different it is hard to compare, so I am worried I am going to think 1 is a roo that isn't. One of my largest chickens is still pink while 1 of the smallest is bright red (thinking hens should be smaller). I'm also worried if I wait to long to decide who is who & they start mating the roosters are going to tear up the hens with the ratio I have. From what I read most say 16 weeks is when they start mating but they seem so early on everything else. Any advice would be appreciated.