My two Light Brahma chicks are finally decently feathered out at six weeks old, so my last six garage holdouts went to Coopland tonight for incarceration in the growout pen (this time with screens over the top to stop ambitious flyers from getting in or out). My garage is chickenless now - woohoo!
I'll let 'em loose in a couple of weeks or so when I decide that they're big enough to hold their own. The Speckled Sussex made that decision on their own, which is why these kids are screened in. At least all 24 birds are now in the same place again. The whole coop AND garage thing was, well, for the birds!
Speaking of the SS, going by a whole passel of threads here on BYC, they can be extremely tricky to sex when young. When they were little, I thought at one point that it was an all-pullet crew. Now that they're nicely feathered out, though, I think I have them (almost) all pegged. The oldest chick (9 weeks old) is a cockerel, as is at least one of the 8-week olds. They have huge combs and wattles, thick legs, rounded bodies, perky tails, and a lot of white on their heads and chests. The older one also has some gorgeous green wing and tail feathers coming in. I haven't heard any attempts at crowing yet, but I'm sure it's coming soon. As I'm a redneck at heart, I've named them Rosco P. Coltrane and Buford T. Justice, just because I can. Yee-haw!
The obvious pullet in the 8-week-old group has a much smaller comb than the others, thinner legs, a long tail carried horizontally, and very little white compared to the obvious boys. The last 8-weeker is my tricky one. The comb is pretty big, but not as large as the cockerels' combs. Also, there isn't anywhere near as much white on this bird, and the body and tail shape and carriage are more like those of the pullet. At the moment, I'm guessing cockerel, but maybe not - we'll know in several weeks if he/she crows or lays an egg. It's Pat! Two roos are fine as long as they aren't beating the tar out of one another, and I'd be good with three roos unless there's a lot of drama or hen-harassing, as there are 21 hens (barring one of the young'uns turning out to be a cockerel as well - they all seem pretty pullet-like thus far, though). Too much drama, and somebody is heading to CL!
The 9-week old cockerel is a great bird. He has made it his mission in life to look after the 8-week-olds since they were all little fuzzballs. I've seen him show them food, let them eat first, let them sleep under him, and almost frantically call and search for any one of them who is out of his sight for any length of time until they're all together again. If he keeps this temperament, he'll be a wonderful flock roo. He was sleeping cuddled up with the other SS up until tonight. I went out and took a peek a little while ago to see how the new coop residents are faring in their pen (I have a decorative solar light rope in the coop for dim ambient light, so I don't need to turn on the overhead lights). The three 8-weekers were bunched up in their usual corner on the roost. Not Rosco, though. He's enthroned in the very middle of the top rung of the roost, surrounded by thirteen-week-old girls, the little pimp. His place in life must be starting to dawn on him.
Speaking of the SS, going by a whole passel of threads here on BYC, they can be extremely tricky to sex when young. When they were little, I thought at one point that it was an all-pullet crew. Now that they're nicely feathered out, though, I think I have them (almost) all pegged. The oldest chick (9 weeks old) is a cockerel, as is at least one of the 8-week olds. They have huge combs and wattles, thick legs, rounded bodies, perky tails, and a lot of white on their heads and chests. The older one also has some gorgeous green wing and tail feathers coming in. I haven't heard any attempts at crowing yet, but I'm sure it's coming soon. As I'm a redneck at heart, I've named them Rosco P. Coltrane and Buford T. Justice, just because I can. Yee-haw!
The obvious pullet in the 8-week-old group has a much smaller comb than the others, thinner legs, a long tail carried horizontally, and very little white compared to the obvious boys. The last 8-weeker is my tricky one. The comb is pretty big, but not as large as the cockerels' combs. Also, there isn't anywhere near as much white on this bird, and the body and tail shape and carriage are more like those of the pullet. At the moment, I'm guessing cockerel, but maybe not - we'll know in several weeks if he/she crows or lays an egg. It's Pat! Two roos are fine as long as they aren't beating the tar out of one another, and I'd be good with three roos unless there's a lot of drama or hen-harassing, as there are 21 hens (barring one of the young'uns turning out to be a cockerel as well - they all seem pretty pullet-like thus far, though). Too much drama, and somebody is heading to CL!
The 9-week old cockerel is a great bird. He has made it his mission in life to look after the 8-week-olds since they were all little fuzzballs. I've seen him show them food, let them eat first, let them sleep under him, and almost frantically call and search for any one of them who is out of his sight for any length of time until they're all together again. If he keeps this temperament, he'll be a wonderful flock roo. He was sleeping cuddled up with the other SS up until tonight. I went out and took a peek a little while ago to see how the new coop residents are faring in their pen (I have a decorative solar light rope in the coop for dim ambient light, so I don't need to turn on the overhead lights). The three 8-weekers were bunched up in their usual corner on the roost. Not Rosco, though. He's enthroned in the very middle of the top rung of the roost, surrounded by thirteen-week-old girls, the little pimp. His place in life must be starting to dawn on him.
That is what I said and I am now going to let a broody hen sit...good luck...
