Our New Peeps: Buster and Baxter

[bluey]

Buster and Baxter are our newest peeps of unknown breed. They are supposed to be pullets but I am a little worried that Buster is a Roo.

You see, Buster and Baxter live in the brooder with four female chicks (2 Rhode Island Reds and 2 Barred Rocks) 2-3 weeks their senior and Buster lives up to his/her name by bossing around the older chicks. Buster will not back down to the significantly larger chicks and they surprisingly put up with it.

Anybody see this behavior before in a young chick (~2 weeks old) and does it necessarily mean that the chick is a roo?

 

[farm_mom]

Sure, you may just have a dominant female. There usually is one when a male is absent....but it is still entirely possible that you do have a roo.

 

[mmajw]

Can you get a side view pic?

 

[sweetshoplady]

When I integrated my 4 newest girls with my 2 EEs there was a lot of pecking as they established their pecking order.

Millie, my hen, pecks the Delawares. As they get used to each other this will settle down.

 

[bluey]

Well, it's turned out that they both seem to be white leghorn roos. Check out the newest picture:

 

[coloradochick]

We got a White leghorn roo from the Easter brooder at the farm store. My 6 year old has to "save" it. But now when I pick him up and rub his neck, his head falls and he goes right to sleep. And he is literally a "chicken" when it comes to sticking up for himself.