Roo or Hen guessing game

[RowerRN]

Hello BYC'ers,

I'm very bummed because I suspect my group of pullets this year is all boys, given that I have gotten zero eggs since my old girls started molting. From what I can tell, I may only have one girl in the bunch - the buff/cream one. Sorry about the distance of the pics, I was shooting them before I went off to work this morning and they are afraid of me. There are five. What do you think? Thank you, Melissa

 

[debid]

I'm seeing a bunch of pullets. How old are they? My EEs were wildly variable about when they started laying (23-32 weeks, if I recall correctly) so it could be that they just aren't there yet.

 

[RowerRN]

Yay! I was devastated to think they were all boys. I'm not sure how old they are - they were supposedly '20 wks' when I got them 2 mos ago but I don't believe it - that would make them 7 mos old. And still no eggs. However, on Thanksgiving I recently discovered a complete tunnel up to the middle of my run. I think a rat or snake may be stealing whatever eggs are being laid.

I know some of the easter-egger hens are taller/prettier than others. I had a big beautiful one with pretty neck feathers that as a novice I definitely would have thought was a roo. I only started out having chickens last summer.

 

[RowerRN]

Also I think for sure the brown/mixed one in the 2nd and last photos is a male. S/he is more bold than the rest of the group, in spite of the fact that the old girls (not pictured) are merciless and pick on these 5. She also postures, spreads out wings and struts a little.

 

[ramirezframing]

those are all pullets

 

[my sunwolf]

I'm 90% sure that all the chicken pictured are pullets, none of them are screaming "roo" and I don't usually see those colors on roos (though you're right that the blueish EE's can be tricky). Individual and closer pictures of hackle and saddle feathers could make me 99% sure.

They actually look like they could be 6-7 months, but at this point they might be waiting to lay until the spring when there's more daylight hours.

 

[RowerRN]

Guess I better mix up the concrete and fill in that tunnel. Weekend project.

How old will they be when they start laying? Shouldn't they be laying by now??

 

[BantamFan4Life]

All Pullets!

 

[hdowden]

Guess I better mix up the concrete and fill in that tunnel. Weekend project.

How old will they be when they start laying? Shouldn't they be laying by now??

those are all 200% pullets

it's winter so you may not see an egg until next year. chickens have laying cycles that go with the amount of daylight they get. once we start getting more daylight hours (i think it needs to be at least 15 hours) they will start to lay and as the days get shorter they will all but stop. i havent seen an egg in at lease 2-3 months now from any of my bantams. so you are looking at them possably being 10 months to over a year old before they start laying.

 

[debid]

Also I think for sure the brown/mixed one in the 2nd and last photos is a male. S/he is more bold than the rest of the group, in spite of the fact that the old girls (not pictured) are merciless and pick on these 5. She also postures, spreads out wings and struts a little.

That just means she's the leader of the younger set. Her coloration is absolutely feminine.


I've noticed that people aren't always forthright when selling chickens but since you got all pullets as promised, the age may also be accurate. Short days can delay the start of laying, stress from the older hens can delay the start of laying, and their genetics may also be involved (not all pullets would start by 28 weeks even under ideal conditions). Hang in there, they'll get around to it!