MrsAuberry00
Songster
Some of you may be familiar with my seemingly endless threads asking for sexing and breed assistance... some of you may not, but trust me, they're there. I thought having a small flock of chickens would be a fun, relaxing venture and smiled at images of myself serenely collecting eggs and scattering scratch as fluffy, definitely female chickens scratched and pecked all around me.
Cut to reality as I worry about bumblefoot, heat stroke, lice, mites, wormy poop, pale yellow yolks, cockerel or pullet, who's pooping water, I think this egg is fertilized, why haven't I heard any crowing, why does it keep laying down like that, and what the hell keeps moving the bricks away from the pen every night?!
I need serious help, possibly from a professional source. Anyway, here I am again asking for advice, preferably advice that doesn't contradict in thirteen different ways, (but we can't always get what we want, or I'd have six definitely female chickens in my coop and about three less things to worry about.) I posted in a different thread, found here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bulls-eye-or-nah.1181400/#post-18630934, about having an egg I thought was fertilized. (I also posted it to the Facebook BYC group.) Today, I had another egg that appeared fertilized and had a few red spots in it so with my trademark regularity, I posted about THAT one in the FBBYC group as well. Photo is attached, of course...why would I not?
If fertilized, as the masses seem to agree that they are, I know I've definitely got a roo on my hands, and not the cute baby of Kanga from Winnie the Pooh, but an "I'm going to mount one of your hens in stealth so you don't see me do it and fertilize her eggs all while not crowing or giving you a definite indication of whether or not I'm definitely or definitely not a rooster" type of roo. You see what I'm dealing with here? But I digress and finally come to the point: since I don't know how old the stealth fertilizer is...this is him, (I think,)
I have to ask what's the earliest age a roo can do his duty successfully and does anyone have any guesses about how old this little pecker is? (It's been 8 weeks and 1 day since we bought him, if that helps.) Also, I've watched it/him plop down and lay like he's exhausted while I haven't seen him doing anything to be exhausted about, (which strongly suggests it's a male. HA!) It eats, drinks, preens, everything like it always has, so I don't believe there's any medical reason for his ploppyness. And by "lay like he's exhausted," I don't mean he's on his side with his tongue hanging out, (do chickens have tongues? Great, more chicken related tidbits to ponder,) I just mean he lays down frequently, or at least more than the hens do, which also points to it being male. (HA! I kill myself.)
Can anyone shed some light on this behavior and possibly give me suggestions on the best time to catch a roo "in the act"? OH, also, when should he start trying to crow? We've not heard any attempts, but our house is a slight distance from the coop, so we might not hear it. However, we spend a lot of time outside and have never heard any crowing attempts.
I honestly think he/it is trying to kill me psychologically. Help.
Cut to reality as I worry about bumblefoot, heat stroke, lice, mites, wormy poop, pale yellow yolks, cockerel or pullet, who's pooping water, I think this egg is fertilized, why haven't I heard any crowing, why does it keep laying down like that, and what the hell keeps moving the bricks away from the pen every night?!
I need serious help, possibly from a professional source. Anyway, here I am again asking for advice, preferably advice that doesn't contradict in thirteen different ways, (but we can't always get what we want, or I'd have six definitely female chickens in my coop and about three less things to worry about.) I posted in a different thread, found here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bulls-eye-or-nah.1181400/#post-18630934, about having an egg I thought was fertilized. (I also posted it to the Facebook BYC group.) Today, I had another egg that appeared fertilized and had a few red spots in it so with my trademark regularity, I posted about THAT one in the FBBYC group as well. Photo is attached, of course...why would I not?
If fertilized, as the masses seem to agree that they are, I know I've definitely got a roo on my hands, and not the cute baby of Kanga from Winnie the Pooh, but an "I'm going to mount one of your hens in stealth so you don't see me do it and fertilize her eggs all while not crowing or giving you a definite indication of whether or not I'm definitely or definitely not a rooster" type of roo. You see what I'm dealing with here? But I digress and finally come to the point: since I don't know how old the stealth fertilizer is...this is him, (I think,)
I have to ask what's the earliest age a roo can do his duty successfully and does anyone have any guesses about how old this little pecker is? (It's been 8 weeks and 1 day since we bought him, if that helps.) Also, I've watched it/him plop down and lay like he's exhausted while I haven't seen him doing anything to be exhausted about, (which strongly suggests it's a male. HA!) It eats, drinks, preens, everything like it always has, so I don't believe there's any medical reason for his ploppyness. And by "lay like he's exhausted," I don't mean he's on his side with his tongue hanging out, (do chickens have tongues? Great, more chicken related tidbits to ponder,) I just mean he lays down frequently, or at least more than the hens do, which also points to it being male. (HA! I kill myself.)
Can anyone shed some light on this behavior and possibly give me suggestions on the best time to catch a roo "in the act"? OH, also, when should he start trying to crow? We've not heard any attempts, but our house is a slight distance from the coop, so we might not hear it. However, we spend a lot of time outside and have never heard any crowing attempts.
I honestly think he/it is trying to kill me psychologically. Help.
. Most of us have been there at one point of another. Believe me, definitely been there! Lice you can treat by rubbing sevin or permethrin onto the skin on the vent, abodomen, and head. Wait three to four days and repeat. That should bring them back into control so the chickens can take care of them. You could try feeding them oyster shell for calcium to help with the eggs. Not sure about the behavior, are you unable to have Roos in your area? If you are able, I would wait till he starts exhibiting more rooster behaviors. You'll notice as he matures he will do a sideways dance for the hens, call them when he finds tasty morsels, and will eventually start mounting in public. I've noticed mine will sound different from the hens, making more growls and yelling. Hope this was helpful! Ps, yes chickens definetly have tounges
