I'm curious - how old would you guess this girl is? Update Post #32

[Pinky]

I see a hen, not a roo.

 

[Lovable Chicks]

Some mature faster then others and it looks like her sisters are EE??...I heard EE's take longer to mature. But I say hen...I have also had chickens lay around 18 - 20 weeks. Keep us posted...what comes a egg or a crow??

 

[Elite Silkies]

I raised BA's for about a year and I had some hens that had very large wattles and combs. It took me forever to sex them, I think they mature slowly myself. At 16 weeks old, I would think if it were a roo it would be crowing by now, unless you already have another rooster.

 

[Countrypunk92]

I have two BAs myself. My RIR mature fastest, but BAs come in second. She is a hen! Gorgous one to boot:]

 

[HEChicken]

Wow, so many comments since I last logged in. I can't remember who asked now, but yes, I do in fact have a chick pic of her. Here it is:

She is about 4-5 weeks in that pic.

By the way, I really wasn't soliciting for opinions on gender, (would have put it in "What Gender is this?" if I had been!) There is no doubt in my mind she is a hen. Having raised quite a few roos, I can usually pick them by a couple of weeks old now, and there is just nothing roo-ish about this girl. Now 16 1/2 weeks, not crowing and no, I have no other roos at the moment. (Her brother, on the other hand, had to be dispatched as soon as he did crow, and that meal is now but a distant memory). The only real point of my post was because I am fascinated by her early development and thought others might find it interesting too. I've been keeping chooks for many years and can't remember any of my other hens turning red or developing much in the way of comb until 20-26 weeks. I also have two pullets who are 8-10 weeks older than this girl and have been laying for over a month, and their combs are not nearly as well developed yet. On the other hand, from what those of you who are more familiar with BA's than I am are saying, she may still be slower to lay - and that's fine with me too.

I actually never considered Marans but anything is possible. I made an incubator last year and looked for local fertile eggs to do a test hatch before I tried shipped eggs. These three (and their late brother) are the result of the test hatch but the woman I obtained the eggs from didn't have a clue what breeds the parents were as the eggs came from her relative's property and she has never even been there! She *thought* the rooster was a RIR but wasn't even positive on that. I am guessing the little grey pullet comes from EE stock but the other two....anything is possible.

 

[AUChick9202]

I can see why you say hen....I agree based on that chick picture. See my avatar for a pick of my BA at the same age....he must definitely be a boy like we thought

 

[NYRIR]

Wow...that's cool. It does appear "hennish" to me as well.I have a barnyard mix hen that looks so much like her..are her eyes orange? I know the broody of my friends that hatched mine was a BA,but she had soooo many roos...we don't know dad! I would love to hear an update as to when she lays...how cool would it be to have hens who matured early! (as long as their bodies could handle it )

 

[Sassafras]

HEChicken, your grey pullet is BEAUTIFUL.

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
Thank you - I think so too

I'm actually really happy with all three. When I think "barnyard mix", I don't necessarily think "beautiful" as well, but that one is about as pretty as any bird I've ever had! And friendly too. Tonight she followed on my heels like a little puppy dog, wherever I went, and although I'm not much of a chicken cuddler, I finally leaned down and picked her up since she seemed to be wanting some attention. I'm not sure she loved being held but she didn't scramble frantically to get away from me when I put her back down either.

 

[TeriyakiChicken]

Hope its a hen.
My BA is 22 weeks and doesn't have a tail that big and barely any wattles and comb.