Need help with mystery crower - Buff Orpington or Black Australorp

[XxB0rd3rsxX10]

i think all of your chickens are hens, it dosent matter the size of the comb. i didnt see any saddle feathers on the buff or the australorp

 

[Carrie Lynn]

Could you get a good head shot of the BA?
I'd like to see the comb, for comparison...

 

[swmalone]

Okay we decided to go on a little over night camping trip and when we came home we discovered that the buff orpington was sitting on 4 eggs, two of hers and two from the black sex link. She did not want to move and stayed up there for hours even when the internal temperature of the coop was hitting 100. This was a frustration as at 22 weeks I couldn't believe she wanted to be broody. She had only been laying for a couple of weeks, but sure enough we would pull her out and she would head right back up there. Anyways the broodiness of her is for another thread.

The real update is that while all of this was going on we discovered a soft-shelled broken egg in the run. At the time that we discovered this I had all three birds in the run by forcing the buff to be down there as well. I didn't see who it came from, but my wife noticed the black australorp standing over it so assumed that is where it came from.

The real update is that it seems if we include the broken egg we had an egg total of 5 eggs in 2 days from 3 birds. Unless I had one that decided to crank out an extra egg I think that my mystery crower was indeed a hen. I will keep an eye out for more eggs and try to break the broodiness of the buff, and I will continue to be optimistic that I have all females.

 

[ChickenLove123]

Oh, wow! I have been looking for an update on this mystery! Thanks!
I have NO idea what to do with the broodiness. They're keeping you on your toes, aren't they!

 

[swmalone]

I kept grabbing the broody buff yesterday and today and making it so she couldn't access the egg boxes and eventually today she just seems to have reverted back to her normal self yelling at me for more grasshoppers. I have to check one last time soon for eggs, but so far it looks like only the black sex link laid today, even though the buff spent several hours in the nest box refusing to leave unless I made her.

 

[swmalone]

Mystery Solved! I can safely say I have all females. I kept a pretty guy eye on things today and saw comings and goings in and out of the coop. When I finally saw all three of the chickens down in the run this afternoon I checked the nest box. I had three nice eggs in there, so it appears that my crow was indeed from a hen.

 

[RGBistro]

I love happy endings! Congrats on your three girls!!!!!!!!

 

[kidsbme3]

oh good grief, even more confused! We have 10 week old BO's and wanted to dress them in 2 more weeks. How the heck can I tell a pullet from a roo?