Pullet crowing?????

[mammasilkie]

Why couldn't he stay with the girls till he left so he's not so stressed? From the video it looked like he was nice to them.

 

[KimKimWilliamso]

My Favorite "hen", a Mille Fleur, started crowing at 8 weeks old, after having had a huge red comb and some waddles show up the week or so before. Even at 3 weeks old he was chest bumping and sparring with the other chicks, so I should have seen it coming. I was sad to realize SHE was a HE but after putting much thought into it, I think we will keep him after all. The girls are so distraught when I seperate them from him for any reason, and he does a great job protecting them and keeping them in line, AND he is sooooooo BEAUTIFUL! LOL

But his first crows sounded just like your guys!!
Yeah, why cant you just keep him until he proves trouble? Thats my plan. Never wanted a Roo, but if he behaves and doesnt get nasty to me, he can stick around. He is a little on the nasty side to the newer chicks, but I imagine that will change down the road.

 

[puglady]

What did the breeder say regarding the video you sent? Are they willing to swap for a pullet? I have some fbcm hatching eggs coming in the mail this week. Hoping many of them are girls

 

[coolcanoechic]

Why couldn't he stay with the girls till he left so he's not so stressed? From the video it looked like he was nice to them.

Yes, he was stressed, but I wanted to give the girls a chance to get used to each other without the influence of the roo constantly chasing and pecking them.
After a while of this though, I decided to keep the newbies separated instead, for a bit longer until the roo goes back to the breeder. At the moment, everybody is happy and feeling more at ease.

 

[coolcanoechic]

What did the breeder say regarding the video you sent? Are they willing to swap for a pullet? I have some fbcm hatching eggs coming in the mail this week. Hoping many of them are girls

Ha ha! His only comment was....and I quote his exact words....."Very interesting" That's it! That is all he said! After all of your comments, I am finally convinced for sure that it is a boy, and told him that I would be returning him this coming weekend. Everything adds up. The behavior and the crowing is as much evidence as I need.
I would consider keeping him if I had more room, but I don't have enough space in my coop and attached run for all the birds I would like to have and it would not be fair to them to squeeze too many birds into a space that is too small. I let my birds out to free range only when I am home, so I don't think it is enough roaming time to keep them from being cranky from over crowding during the day while I'm at work.

As for the breeder? I understood from the beginning that I had purchased straight run and was expecting to get roos. He has a policy of taking them back, which works for me. He has taken back three already and will take this one back too. In my opinion though, I think he does not pay much attention to his birds behaviors and their growing up. That is why I think he could not tell the sex of the bird. He also did not recognize the names of other breeds that I mentioned, for example buff orpington and speckles sussex. This leads me to believe that he is only focused on his breed and nothing else. Yes, he sold me two olive eggers, but they come from breeding a bird such as a marans with another to produce the olive eggs. I am a newbie to chickens and learning many things as I go along. This site and your opinions have been most valuable to me and I truly appreciate everyone's two cents here. Thanks so much for helping me with this!

 

[HickoryHollow]

So, if he is so sure it is a pullet, why not just swap you for another pullet, to save you a trip back just in case? Even swap of pullet for pullet of same age? What's the big deal?

 

[MichelleVA]

Well some hens can crow and some roosters can lay eggs! (BUT THAT IS VERY RARE, KEEP THAT BIRD IT IS SPECIAL!)