looking4rocks
Chirping
- Jul 2, 2016
- 29
- 13
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Our 14 week old Light Brahma is giving us signs that make us suspicious she's not a hen. She is bigger, bossier, and louder than the rest. It's tough since s/he is a different breed than all the others - I have 3 Easter Eggers and 1 Golden Buff. She has bitten my husband twice but is okay with me. The biggest clue that I have yet to get on video is the noise she makes before coming out of the coop in the morning. It's far from a "cockledoodledoo" but it's a loud noise she makes 3-4 times before coming down the ramp. It certainly doesn't happen every morning because I've gotten up at 5am both days this weekend and the **** bird didn't do it!
I don't know if this info would help explain her behavior, but starting around age 4 weeks we started to notice her leg was deformed. Not sure if she injured it, slipped a tendon, or the bones just didn't form right as she grew but now she has a significant deformity and limp. Doesn't seem to cause her pain but we had to make the roost in the coop "ADA accessible" and she isn't as active as the others. Early on, my husband was putting her through some physical therapy by doing passive stretching of the leg in case it was a slipped tendon (I think he began those efforts too late to be effective so we've stopped that). So we don't know if her dislike of him is because of that or because he's male. Also, her gimpiness could contribute to her bossy behavior in an effort to establish herself in the flock so she wouldn't be picked on.
In terms of appearance, she is much larger than the rest (all same age). She also holds herself differently but that could be because of her deformed leg. Her comb/waddle is very developed and bright red... this redness started early, probably around 8-9 weeks. She has pointier tail feathers and her tail is much less defined, it's kinda stubby. The dark feathers in her tail and around her neck can have a greenish sheen to them in sunlight.
Here are the photos and a video, I'll let you decide! Thanks for your help!
All these are age 14 weeks
And baby pictures, for fun
4 days old
1 week old
3 weeks old
4 weeks old
6 weeks old
7 weeks old
I don't know if this info would help explain her behavior, but starting around age 4 weeks we started to notice her leg was deformed. Not sure if she injured it, slipped a tendon, or the bones just didn't form right as she grew but now she has a significant deformity and limp. Doesn't seem to cause her pain but we had to make the roost in the coop "ADA accessible" and she isn't as active as the others. Early on, my husband was putting her through some physical therapy by doing passive stretching of the leg in case it was a slipped tendon (I think he began those efforts too late to be effective so we've stopped that). So we don't know if her dislike of him is because of that or because he's male. Also, her gimpiness could contribute to her bossy behavior in an effort to establish herself in the flock so she wouldn't be picked on.
In terms of appearance, she is much larger than the rest (all same age). She also holds herself differently but that could be because of her deformed leg. Her comb/waddle is very developed and bright red... this redness started early, probably around 8-9 weeks. She has pointier tail feathers and her tail is much less defined, it's kinda stubby. The dark feathers in her tail and around her neck can have a greenish sheen to them in sunlight.
Here are the photos and a video, I'll let you decide! Thanks for your help!
All these are age 14 weeks
And baby pictures, for fun
4 days old
1 week old
3 weeks old
4 weeks old
6 weeks old
7 weeks old
