She said/He said Who's right? Who's wrong? No one!

[Ravynscroft]

Oh yeah, I had a question. My chickens are really loving free ranging now. I was only doing it once in a while as a treat and now they wait by the door to the run! Anyway, while they were out today, 2 pullets (*i think*) were fighting. They were chest bumping each other and one was really antagonizing the other. She just kept going head to head with her and trying to act taller then her. Is this normal behavior? Do females do this? I've been sure this one doing it was a girl for a few months now. But they are silkies, so it's hard to tell.

Post pics... my OH swore our splash Silkie was a cockerel cuz it was the biggest chest bumper and always started the sparring matches... I told him she was a girl...

She's a pretty pullet now, lol...

 

[Ren2014]

See that's funny because my dominate hen in one of my pens is a LF SL polish. And she is in there with an EE, RIR, and Barred rock. She is the smallest of all them but she head biotch!

That is funny. Now that I think of it, we have EE's, BR's and Brown Leghorns and the BL's are younger and smaller but they are dominant over some of the EE's. BR's rule here, though, lol.

 

[Pyxis]

[

Post pics... my OH swore our splash Silkie was a cockerel cuz it was the biggest chest bumper and always started the sparring matches... I told him she was a girl...

She's a pretty pullet now, lol...

You think silkies are bad for sexing, try frilkies

 

[Ravynscroft]

You think silkies are bad for sexing, try frilkies

lol... actually, I can accurately sex our Silkies as juvies now... he can't, but I can...

 

[Pyxis]

lol... actually, I can accurately sex our Silkies as juvies now... he can't, but I can...

An admirable skill! I still can't tell until usually two to three months old.

 

[Ravynscroft]

An admirable skill! I still can't tell until usually two to three months old.

Thank you... but I chalk it up to lots of time at home...

Actually, the walnut combs on ours are super short and flat on the girls, but get really big on the boys... I noticed if it extends back past a certain point then it's a boy, and if not, girl...

 

[RubyNala97]

Females do fight for dominance in the pecking order. How old are they? If you post pictures we could try to confirm that they're pullets for you. Silkies are little stinkers when it comes to sexing.

They are 19ish weeks. I will be so disappointed if she's not a girl! The head cockerel is always trying to mate her so....

Mine normally do that too but within 30 minutes or so they're fine but she's been doing this for 5 hours now. Well, she was doing it til I picked her up, I've been holding her ever since. I'd say she cried for about 4 hours straight.

I hope she is ok and just a cry baby!!

Quarantine still doesn't guarantee health... I will still only ever get birds from reputable sources... too many things that can slip through quarantine with signs... :/
Blech, it turns my stomach every time you talk about that guy... and I really worry about something nasty getting brought back to your flock... I worry too much, I know... :/

Constant cheeping *could be* a sign of failure to thrive... that2why Pyxis asked if it was eating, drinking and active other than the noise...
Get a small, lightweight cardboard box... like a hamburger helper box... cut out large portion of both of the bigger sides... tape a paper towel over one of the cutouts... lay it down so paper towel area is the top and stick the chicky in it in the brooder... gives it a simple, easy temp "mama cave" to snuggle under...

Trust me, I worry about that too. And it really stinks because he's a super nice guy (and my landlord) and he's right next door, so we always talk "chickens or peacocks or ducks" but we are night and day with how we care for our animals. I want to rescue every breathing thing over there! It would be so nice if he was like a byc person, do you know what I mean? And that's a great idea about the box. I'm using my MHP for the first time right now and they all finally just went under for bed! I had to turn down the temp a bit, all day they wouldn't go near it. I'm happy they went under. I really like the idea of the mph but my personal experience has been if I set it up right after hatch, they go under and don't come out to learn to eat or drink. So I took it out for the first few days (and got lazy and just set it back up today...2 weeks later).

Post pics... my OH swore our splash Silkie was a cockerel cuz it was the biggest chest bumper and always started the sparring matches... I told him she was a girl...

She's a pretty pullet now, lol...

I will get some pics tomorrow for sure! The girls are just maturing into ladies now, so maybe they are trying to see who is the toughest girl. I really hope so!

 

[kwhites634]

WOW!
This thread's got everything; first a Humidity Queen & now a Sex Expert
No wonder it's so popular!

 

[AmyLynn2374]

I'm going to try this next time I'm sick!

That sounds so good right now!! I was a big drinker in college. I loved it, but then it just fizzled out for me when I started having kids 10 years ago. Haven't really had a drink In years. Maybe when I'm done breastfeeding this one, I'll find a specific cocktail I like and treat myself once in a while. Nothing wrong with that!

I'm pretty sure that the last time I actually had an alcoholic beverage was in 2006, and it was only a strawberry daquiry....lol

Oh yeah, I had a question. My chickens are really loving free ranging now. I was only doing it once in a while as a treat and now they wait by the door to the run! Anyway, while they were out today, 2 pullets (*i think*) were fighting. They were chest bumping each other and one was really antagonizing the other. She just kept going head to head with her and trying to act taller then her. Is this normal behavior? Do females do this? I've been sure this one doing it was a girl for a few months now. But they are silkies, so it's hard to tell.

Mine have gotten like that, plus more and more are letting themselves out at will...lol I've noticed in the last week my June hatched chicks are doing the same thing. They were all out there today and I watched two different pairs of girls chest bump and challenge each other just like the boys. At one point one of the girls even challenged the cockerel...lol

 

[RubyNala97]

I'm pretty sure that the last time I actually had an alcoholic beverage was in 2006, and it was only a strawberry daquiry....lol

Mine have gotten like that, plus more and more are letting themselves out at will...lol  I've noticed in the last week my June hatched chicks are doing the same thing. They were all out there today and I watched two different pairs of girls chest bump and challenge each other just like the boys. At one point one of the girls even challenged the cockerel...lol

I wanted to get a video of it but the baby was sitting in my lap and we were out in the yard and I didn't have my phone! Of course, the one time I don't have it. I will see if she does it again tomorrow! But I'm glad others females do it too!