Rooster or Hen?

[ccoscina]

Completely understand. I’m the same way.

You can come kill me anytime sweetie

 

[Painted Calls]

I'm honestly on the fence. Definitely following though and hoping for future updates!

Does this confusing chicken have a name?

 

[NatJ]

you use more logic in your arguments than some other people on this thread.

I understand things better when there is a logical reason for why they work.
So when I try to figure things out, or explain things to someone else, that's how I tackle it.

Regarding warmth - you are wrong, regular feed doesn't produce as much warmth as corn.

Are you saying they have a different number of calories per cup of food?
Since chicken food does contain other ingredients in addition to corn, that might be correct.

Adding corn to the diet only during winter is a common thing for this exact reason.

Maybe in your area, but it's not universal. I grew up in an area with cold winters too (Alaska), and we did not supplement with corn during the winter. We always let the chickens have as much chicken food as they wanted, all year long, and they simply ate more of it in the winter.

corn is a slow burn, meaning it breaks down slower and provides warmth for a longer period of time.

Breaks down slower than what? The corn in the chicken feed?
I grant corn may behave differently than the other ingredients in the chicken feed, but the chicken feed itself contains quite a bit of corn, which presumably continues to act like corn.

If my flock as a whole was having problems I would be more concerned about their diet. But if it is only one chicken that CLEARLY has genetic problems then I'm not going to worry too much.

I agree that the rest of your flock seems fine.

Personally, I don't have a problem with people feeding chickens other things when the chickens do fine. But when someone new to chickens has a problem, I do recommend that they feed a complete chicken food until they sort out the problem, and offer nothing else except water, grit, and oyster shell during that time. This usually makes it easier to figure out what the problem really is-- sometimes a problem does have a dietary cause, and sometimes it does not, but using a complete chicken food will fix dietary issues, and it makes one less thing to consider when looking for other causes.

The only problem I see is Speckles, but I am not convinced that the problem is genetic.
From what I've seen, Speckles' problems could all be caused by semi-starvation.

I know it had genetic problems simply based on the fact that it is a rooster but also the lowest on the peck order (by far - it doesn't even come close to the next chicken).

Hungry/weak chickens do that.

If it is a rooster and has had access to the same exact feed as the other chickens, you can't say the feed is the reason why every single one of my hens dominates this rooster.

Actually, Speckles did not have access to the same feed, because it was being chased away.
So I say that LACK of feed is the main reason for the problem.

The situation might have been worse because the other chickens were able to have the parts they thought were best, and left the undesireable parts for Speckles (which could not happen if you were feeding just one kind of complete feed), but I think that's a secondary issue, and Speckles would probably still have these problems even if you were feeding just one kind of complete feed.

It is too afraid to peck them - i have never seen it peck another chicken in its whole entire lifetime. And if another chicken gives it a mean look then it instantly runs inside the coop in fear. It would be impossible for this to occur with a rooster unless it has genetic issues that make it not very fit to survive on its own.

I don't agree that this would be impossible in an otherwise-normal rooster, but I do see your point, and Speckles might also have genetic issues.

When I have had flocks with a mix of breeds, it is common for birds of one breed to be bolder and more dominant, and birds of another breed to be submissive and less dominant. Yes, I have seen males that were submissive to same-age females of other breeds. I don't think I've seen a male that acted scared of the females that were his own breed and his own age, but I certainly have seen pullets that acted so scared of all other chickens that they couldn't function right. (My solution: either separate them until they improve, or butcher them.) At least when they're young, I think males and females act enough alike that I could easily see a male acting that way too. And once he's in the habit of acting that way, he will keep acting that way until something changes (like how you've been making the chickens in your flock change their behavior.)

Unless it's somebody that actually wants to keep it alive forever I would rather eat it myself. I would prefer it die how I want it to die.

I tend to feel that way too

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Speckles is physically twice as big as the other chickens in the flock. So even though it was starving, it still grew bigger than the others which makes me believe it must be a rooster. So it's way bigger than all these other chickens.

That. That is why I can't say for sure Speckles is a hen. Do you have any pictures of the size difference?

 

[TheOddOneOut]

That. That is why I can't say for sure Speckles is a hen. Do you have any pictures of the size difference?

I would agree with this, however…
Hens can be very different in size.
These two female chicks are the same age and from the same source, yet…

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

I would agree with this, however…
Hens can be very different in size.
These two female chicks are the same age and from the same source, yet…View attachment 2926244

Those are different breeds, though, aren't they? They also probably evened out in size as they got bigger.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Okay, if I haven’t been clear:
In my knowledgeable and honest opinion, this bird is female.
She is not a very healthy chicken. Her feathers look thin and frayed, probably because she doesn’t have enough protein to balance the overload of fat in her food intake.
She does not lay eggs because she is malnourished.
She is large because that’s just what her genetics dictated.
Her feathers are “curvy” because they are a bit soft and new, and probably bent.
She’s a female.
And obviously you’re never going to listen to our good information on diets, so I’ll try to leave that alone.

 

[ccoscina]

That. That is why I can't say for sure Speckles is a hen. Do you have any pictures of the size difference?

One picture shows height difference another shows width difference

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Those are different breeds, though, aren't they? They also probably evened out in size as they got bigger.

They’re both cross breeds. They did both even out, but the gray pullet is still larger.

 

[Kiki]

One picture shows height difference another shows width difference

Those birds pictured are not all the same breed.