Pullets, hopefully?

[-Chanticleer-]

You’ve got a flock of pullets.

 

[SchwartzLakeFarmNC]

All Pullets.
I don't see anything that would change my mind at this point.

 

[Winderdear]

Thank you Reinn and SchwartzLakeFarmNC, that's great news! Though I probably have no need to worry, I will keep adding photos up until the first eggs are laid, just to have a record.

We can keep roosters, but I thought starting with just girls would be easier for now. I'm going to stick to autosexing breeds until I have a dozen chickens. Then, if they are truly all girls when everything is all said and done, I'll celebrate and splurge on a fancy rooster from Greenfire Farms. Something like a Chamois Appenzeller Spitzhauben

I figure that if I get a non-game and non-table breed of roo who is of high quality and super handsome, then if I have to rehome him for some reason it shouldn't be difficult to find someone who will give him a flock of hens for breeding, or just keep him around for eye candy rather than use him for fighting or supper. ...At least, this is what I intend to tell my husband when I try to justify spending $70 on a single unsexed chick!

 

[Tookie]

Just updating pics now that they’re 8 weeks old. I think they still all look like pullets. I can’t imagine any of them being boys at this point, but please let me know if you think I have anything to worry about! I’ll keep updating as they grow.

Mei (Welsummer)
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Her favorite thing to do is perch on my leg and let me pet her until she falls asleep. I call her “The Lounge” because she prefers to laze about, and is often a pillow for the other girls, lol.

Juin (Dominique)
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AKA “Little Rascal”. She gets into everything, and is very curious. She’s tiny compared to the others. Nearly impossible to chase her out of the underbrush when she’s cricket-hunting, that’s for sure!

Juillet (Cuckoo Marans)
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Nickname: “Gentle Floof”. She is so fluffy that she gets hot very easily, poor thing. She is not super affectionate, and rather quirky. Very much the type to go her own way and at her own pace. She is extremely gentle when taking treats, never pinching our hands.

Août (Blue Cuckoo Marans)
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AKA “Stomping Boots” because she will stomp on the ground with her feathered feet before she runs off to bump beaks and chests with the other girls in challenge. When they all go out to forage and one stray chick gets too far away (nearly always Juin), I’ll call her name (“Juin!”) and Août will come running after her to chase her back to me. It’s like having a tiny sheep dog who lays eggs (hopefully )!

All pullets!

 

[-Chanticleer-]

I can’t wait to see the eggs .

 

[The Chick Addict]

Sweet little girlies!

 

[Winderdear]

Another update, they’ll be 14 weeks tomorrow!

Mei (Welsummer)


Juin (Dominique)


Juillet (Cuckoo Marans)

Août (Blue Cuckoo Marans)


I’m confident they’re all girls, but my Cuckoo Marans (Juillet) has such a red comb now. Her face gets flushed very easily. I used to think it was because she was hot, but the weather is cool now and she is almost always red in the face. In the pictures above, that’s as not flushed as she can look, and it was 65°F outside. My Welsummer Mei’s comb is also getting more red the past couple weeks, and some of the dark reddish-salmon color from her chest is now showing up in her wing feathers.

Juillet has been a little aggressive lately toward the smallest bird, my Dominique (Juin). She only pecks her when they’re eating feed or treats (broccoli, peas, watermelon etc) together in their run, but she’s drawn blood twice now. I’m trying to make sure there are always several bowls of food so that Juin has the option to avoid Juillet, but she still chooses to eat from the same bowl Juillet does most of the time. I don’t know if she’s naïve or brave. Juillet is double her size.

Anything you think I should do about this behavior? I’ve been hoping they’d figure it all out on their own, so other than treating Juin’s wounds and keeping an eye on her, and maybe bonking Juillet with the broccoli when she tries to peck Juin, I try not to interfere too much.

 

[Tookie]

Another update, they’ll be 14 weeks tomorrow!

Mei (Welsummer)


Juin (Dominique)


Juillet (Cuckoo Marans)

Août (Blue Cuckoo Marans)


I’m confident they’re all girls, but my Cuckoo Marans (Juillet) has such a red comb now. Her face gets flushed very easily. I used to think it was because she was hot, but the weather is cool now and she is almost always red in the face. In the pictures above, that’s as not flushed as she can look, and it was 65°F outside. My Welsummer Mei’s comb is also getting more red the past couple weeks, and some of the dark reddish-salmon color from her chest is now showing up in her wing feathers.

They're all pretty little pullets, for sure!

Juillet has been a little aggressive lately toward the smallest bird, my Dominique (Juin). She only pecks her when they’re eating feed or treats (broccoli, peas, watermelon etc) together in their run, but she’s drawn blood twice now. I’m trying to make sure there are always several bowls of food so that Juin has the option to avoid Juillet, but she still chooses to eat from the same bowl Juillet does most of the time. I don’t know if she’s naïve or brave. Juillet is double her size.

Anything you think I should do about this behavior? I’ve been hoping they’d figure it all out on their own, so other than treating Juin’s wounds and keeping an eye on her, and maybe bonking Juillet with the broccoli when she tries to peck Juin, I try not to interfere too much.

How much blood are we talking? How big of wounds?
I would just monitor for, they're probably sorting out the pecking order which is normal.

 

[Winderdear]

They're all pretty little pullets, for sure!

How much blood are we talking? How big of wounds?
I would just monitor for, they're probably sorting out the pecking order which is normal.

Initially she got a tiny nosebleed and she seemed a little shocked by it at the time, peeping strangely. I just carried her off and calmed her down. The nosebleed never really dripped, I just saw it in her nare for a second and then it was gone. The second time she had a single drop of blood on her comb. You can see where her comb has scabbed here (the little dark spot in the center):



I assumed this wasn’t too worth worrying over, but would love to be reassured of that. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer me <3

 

[Tookie]

Initially she got a tiny nosebleed and she seemed a little shocked by it at the time, peeping strangely. I just carried her off and calmed her down. The nosebleed never really dripped, I just saw it in her nare for a second and then it was gone. The second time she had a single drop of blood on her comb. You can see where her comb has scabbed here (the little dark spot in the center):

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I assumed this wasn’t too worth worrying over, but would love to be reassured of that. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer me <3

Doesn't look or sound like her wounds were that bad, so I wouldn't worry a whole lot about it.