RIR chicks...Please help!!!

[csdixiechick82]

I recently Purchased 5 RIRs from a local Feed/Seed/Farmer store....Well, I don't know what I'm doing and need some help. I was wanting to purchase some chicks to raise and have my OWN REAL organic eggs...Well, the purchase came before I was ready. I went to the Feed/Seed/Farmer store just to "look" and the 5 chicks he had were in horrible shape (I could tell that and I'm no Chick expert), so I wouldn't leave until my hubby bought them. Very long story short...My hubby got/built everything for me in 1 evening. My chicks are supposed to be all hens, but I'm not certain on that....All of them are missing toes (due to the "Farmer" having a raccoon problem), one of them has a patch of missing feathers on his/her back, and I have no idea how old they are (when I asked he replied "they are pullets") and if they are all Hens. If anyone could suggest an age and if they all appear to be Hens, I would REALLY appreciate it! They are very sweet babies and my 3 children and I already adore them. They follow my children around the yard and they fly up to my shoulders while I'm cleaning out their house every AM, so they are very friendly (thankfully).
Thanks for your attention and time....My chicks and I appreciate it

This is the same day they came home with us Appox 4 weeks ago. The on on the very right is the one that is still missing feathers on his/her back

And here they are now...Not a good pic but they were wanting me to hold them

 

[CapricornFarm]

Pretty hard to tell at that distance . if you have a rooster , the comb will start turning red. Pullets wait until they are about to lay before the comb turns. Hope that helps

 

[csdixiechick82]

Quote:
Thanks! Can you tell me what other signs my girls might show when they are ready to lay?

 

[BrattishTaz]

It is really hard to tell you anything about your birds from those pics. We will need some close ups of them to tell sex. Get some of the bird from the side (especially tail) and a good head shot so we can see the comb and wattles. Pics of any injuries you have questions about would help too.

Feather loss can be from mating attempts, picking by other birds, or even parasites. If you see any blood on the bird with feather loss (or any othr bird) you will need to separate her and get some blu-cote on the area or they will possibly peck her to death. Checking for mites and lice would be a good start for you.

 

[islandchix]

I'm no chicken expert, but we have RIR's too and got ours when they were 2 weeks old. It looks to me like they were probably about 5-6 wks when ya got them which would put them at around 2 1/2 months old now. As far as telling the gender you'll need to wait a few more weeks. We started seeing the comb on one turn a dark red and get bigger than the rest and it turned out that he was a rooster. We new for sure at 4 months when he gave his first crow

 

[BrattishTaz]

Quote:
A pullet is a hen under the age of 1 year.

 

[Judy]

Offhand I'd guess all pullets, maybe 3 or 4 weeks when you got them if that's a 2x4 on the ground in the first pic. I have some TSC RIR chicks that are now 12 weeks, supposedly all pullets. One of them is obviously a cockerel. This has been obvious for about 2 weeks, from his much redder comb.

Besides combs turning red when they are nearing point of lay, they will start squatting when you reach for them or even walk near them. This means they will lower themselves to the ground and kind of flatten a bit and hold still a few moments, to prepare for being mated.

The missing feathers I would guess are from feather pecking, from their being overcrowded where they were living, although I agree it's a very good idea to check for lice/mites as well. They probably won't be replaced til they molt or have a partial molt, which should be fairly soon. You should start seeing a fair number of feathers laying around.