Hello,
I had chickens probably like 10 years ago, but they were given to me and were several years old and I never experienced the whole incubation and hatching phenomena until these last couple months. I purchased incubators and got my first set of seven eggs, all of them hatched and were healthy! It was a great first experience. The eggs I purchased were a mixed variety, so I got all different types of breed mixes, and I don't know much about the different chicken breeds.
However I cannot keep roosters and was basically looking for four to six hens for my outside coop. I've learned the hard way that it's very difficult to sex baby chickens. Of course I did my research, watched videos, and tried several different methods such as vent sexing, but I'm nowhere near experienced as others to know for sure. Anyways out of the seven that I first hatched, I got paranoid because five of them were chest bumping constantly, and then would spar with each other, they started doing this around 3 weeks old constantly, I kept the two that were more calm and cowardly and called them Poppy and Peep. Even though I like the others as well, I just didn't want to take the risk. So I ended up giving them to somebody else who then told me that only two of them are roosters and three were hens, the ones they said were hens were the most violent and the ones that sparred the most so I don't know if it's true or not. But one of their methods was hanging the chickens by their feet and seeing if they stretch out, obviously I don't know anything about that it sounded weird to me.
Anyways Poppy and Peep are now 11 weeks old. And I'm pretty sure that peep is a hen, she is pretty much all black with red around her face. But I've been going back and forth with poppy, they are a Polish crested. If someone can let me know what they think as far as their sex. I'll upload their photos for you guys to check.
I also hatched a few more chicks in May, and I don't want to make the same mistake with rehoming them if their hens, but I get really paranoid about cockerels. But I will also upload photos of them.
The brown one I call Cinnamon, 4 weeks old, going by her small comb and feathers and calm disposition I believe she is a hen.
The whitest yellow one I call Sunny, they are 4 weeks old. They have been the most dominant of the younger chicks, they haven't been super aggressive but did spar. The fact that they already have a pinkish comb and it's kind of spiky raised slightly and some minor pink wattles developing I'm thinking that Sunny is a Cockerel.
the brown and white speckled one I'm calling Dorothy, they haven't been aggressive or showing dominance or anything however their comb is getting a little darker and it is spiky and raised slightly already. So I'm leaning Cockerel for her as well. She's only 3 weeks old
the smallest of the bunch I call Sophia, she's white but has the black Speckles on her wings, she's the less developed of the rest, so I won't really can't determine one way or the other for her. 3 weeks old
and finally the last one I believe is an Easter Egger, someone can correct me I'm not great with the breeds, I've been calling them Rambo, mainly because they smashed through when they hatched from their egg. They are also 3 weeks old and, it seems like their feathers developing quicker than Sophia which was there hatch made.
anyways I appreciate anyone who wants to help me out and give me their opinion on their gender and breed.
I had chickens probably like 10 years ago, but they were given to me and were several years old and I never experienced the whole incubation and hatching phenomena until these last couple months. I purchased incubators and got my first set of seven eggs, all of them hatched and were healthy! It was a great first experience. The eggs I purchased were a mixed variety, so I got all different types of breed mixes, and I don't know much about the different chicken breeds.
However I cannot keep roosters and was basically looking for four to six hens for my outside coop. I've learned the hard way that it's very difficult to sex baby chickens. Of course I did my research, watched videos, and tried several different methods such as vent sexing, but I'm nowhere near experienced as others to know for sure. Anyways out of the seven that I first hatched, I got paranoid because five of them were chest bumping constantly, and then would spar with each other, they started doing this around 3 weeks old constantly, I kept the two that were more calm and cowardly and called them Poppy and Peep. Even though I like the others as well, I just didn't want to take the risk. So I ended up giving them to somebody else who then told me that only two of them are roosters and three were hens, the ones they said were hens were the most violent and the ones that sparred the most so I don't know if it's true or not. But one of their methods was hanging the chickens by their feet and seeing if they stretch out, obviously I don't know anything about that it sounded weird to me.
Anyways Poppy and Peep are now 11 weeks old. And I'm pretty sure that peep is a hen, she is pretty much all black with red around her face. But I've been going back and forth with poppy, they are a Polish crested. If someone can let me know what they think as far as their sex. I'll upload their photos for you guys to check.
I also hatched a few more chicks in May, and I don't want to make the same mistake with rehoming them if their hens, but I get really paranoid about cockerels. But I will also upload photos of them.
The brown one I call Cinnamon, 4 weeks old, going by her small comb and feathers and calm disposition I believe she is a hen.
The whitest yellow one I call Sunny, they are 4 weeks old. They have been the most dominant of the younger chicks, they haven't been super aggressive but did spar. The fact that they already have a pinkish comb and it's kind of spiky raised slightly and some minor pink wattles developing I'm thinking that Sunny is a Cockerel.
the brown and white speckled one I'm calling Dorothy, they haven't been aggressive or showing dominance or anything however their comb is getting a little darker and it is spiky and raised slightly already. So I'm leaning Cockerel for her as well. She's only 3 weeks old
the smallest of the bunch I call Sophia, she's white but has the black Speckles on her wings, she's the less developed of the rest, so I won't really can't determine one way or the other for her. 3 weeks old
and finally the last one I believe is an Easter Egger, someone can correct me I'm not great with the breeds, I've been calling them Rambo, mainly because they smashed through when they hatched from their egg. They are also 3 weeks old and, it seems like their feathers developing quicker than Sophia which was there hatch made.
anyways I appreciate anyone who wants to help me out and give me their opinion on their gender and breed.
