question about maturing

[realtreegirl]

I bought 6 chicks the first week of June...Ended up with 5 hens and one roo. The rooster started crowing about 2 weeks ago and about 6 days ago he started chasing my 2 female ducks and trying to mate with them. He has no interest in his hens what so ever. They are still pale red in the combs and the combs are still pretty small. My question is I guess is they were all born on the same day how much longer does it take for the hens to mature once the roos do? I thought it would be close but the girls look like they have a ways to go unless it happens overnight. Thanks a bunch in advance.

 

[Den in Penn]

Yes pullets do mature latter then cockerels. At 14 weeks or so your pullets have a couple more weeks till most breeds start to show signs of maturity. The cockerel will likely show little interest in them till then. They can suddenly start to sport a red comb over night or not, they don't all follow the script.

 

[donrae]

good for him for not trying to mate the girls yet. They're too young, won't be receptive to mating until more like 18ish weeks, depending on breed. High production birds tend to mature earlier, heritage or giant breeds mature slower.