One Chicken Keeps her Tail Held High

[ejtalbert]

I thought it was a girl. Barred rocks are actually pretty easy to sex. The roos look much lighter in color because their white stripes are a little thicker than hens.

Ahh, yes.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I have a 10 week old flock. 2 barred rocks, 2 silver laced wyandottes, and 1 starlight green egger.
One of my chickens is odd, compared to the rest. She always has her tail propped up high, and she likes to sleep on her side.
She seems to have some sort of authority over the rest of the chickens, they always follow her where she goes.
I bought 5 pullets, but I am worried I might have gotten a roo.
Can anyone explain, please?
(the photo of her stretching out is from about 3 weeks ago, she still does it, but I don't have a more recent shot)
View attachment 2157121View attachment 2157122View attachment 2157123

He is a looker!

 

[TheOddOneOut]

You could neuter him. His harmorns will settle down. They will be like a hen, he will not crow, and can't fertiliz eggs.

Nope! Nope Nope. Caponizing is super risky and expensive. It just gives you a sad, fat male chicken who tries to sit on eggs.

 

[Kabootar]

Nope! Nope Nope. Caponizing is super risky and expensive. It just gives you a sad, fat male chicken who tries to sit on eggs.

But it's more tender and succulent and flavorful than the garbage most people buy in super market. I don't see how it's expensive or risky. Start with worthless cockerels like leghorns. You can always eat him if he dies. And once you get the hang of it, you rarely kill anyone.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

But it's more tender and succulent and flavorful than the garbage most people buy in super market. I don't see how it's expensive or risky. Start with worthless cockerels like leghorns. You can always eat him if he dies. And once you get the hang of it, you rarely kill anyone.

Did they say they wanted to eat their rooster? And if they did do it, they would probably kill him...
And, worthless? In my opinion, no life is worthless.

 

[Rachnicko]

@ejtalbert I’ve never come across a starlight before, but she’s lovely!! How old was she in the fourth photo there? I just wondered as I have a chick who looks similar in comb and wattle development... and I hope is a pullet!

 

[TheOddOneOut]

@ejtalbert I’ve never come across a starlight before, but she’s lovely!! How old was she in the fourth photo there? I just wondered as I have a chick who looks similar in comb and wattle development... and I hope is a pullet!

There are two different birds pictured in the thread...@ejtalbert was the barred bird female?

 

[Kabootar]

Did they say they wanted to eat their rooster? And if they did do it, they would probably kill him...
And, worthless? In my opinion, no life is worthless.

I don't mean to be rude and I completely appreciate your perspective. However ever if we keep chickens, then we should try to harvest our own meat. We see baby chicks getting squished and killed in the cruelest of ways.

It doesn't have to be this way, we can caponize them and we can keep with hens and then we can process them and eat them as we need. We don't need to raise Cornish Cross chicks and harvest them all at once and put them in freezer. This is not how we were supposed to raise and consume poultry.

You know agriculture is not always sunshine and lollypopski, sometimes it's a lonely job. Sometimes I think about this industrialization of agriculture and I realise now we don't have farm cows, farm pigs or farm hens. Now we have dairy farms, pig farms and chicken farms. This is very unhealthy and cruel.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I don't mean to be rude and I completely appreciate your perspective. However ever if we keep chickens, then we should try to harvest our own meat. We see baby chicks getting squished and killed in the cruelest of ways.

It doesn't have to be this way, we can caponize them and we can keep with hens and then we can process them and eat them as we need. We don't need to raise Cornish Cross chicks and harvest them all at once and put them in freezer. This is not how we were supposed to raise and consume poultry.

You know agriculture is not always sunshine and lollypopski, sometimes it's a lonely job. Sometimes I think about this industrialization of agriculture and I realise now we don't have farm cows, farm pigs or farm hens. Now we have dairy farms, pig farms and chicken farms. This is very unhealthy and cruel.

Thank you for being very polite, I appreciate it. I understand your perspective better now.

 

[Kabootar]

Thank you for being very polite, I appreciate it. I understand your perspective better now.

You see when we keep a group of heavily inbred single breed of a species in unsanitary conditions in a confined area we make ideal conditions for pathogens to spread. The animals kept under such conditions are stressed that weakens their immunity further making them more susceptible to dangerous pathogens that's why those animals are heavily dosed with all kinds of antibiotics and medications.

Even after doing all that most of them need heavy government subsidies. I don't know about the States, but in Europe and other parts of the world, they always run in loss because there's always more supply than demand. These industrial farms are very productive, but they are neither profitable nor healthy nor ethical. That's just my two cents.