Hi! I have quite a sizeable flock of babies at the moment, and I'm a little worried. We got four straight runs of what were supposed to be Buff Orpingtons (it's pretty clear they're not unfortunately, LOL. I'll be posting in the Breed Identification forum once I get good enough pictures). They're all healthy and lovely and around two weeks, but all four, Merlin, Fili, Kili and Pippin all do this thing that I'm hoping is just chick-y and not rooster-y. It would be just my luck if I picked four Roos.
Merle is the one that usually starts it, but it usually involves two chicks stretching to their full height, bobbing their heads, spreading their wings and sort of making fake goes at eachother. Nobody ever actually gets hurt, but they look an awful lot like roosters when they do it. Merlin is already starting to sort of walk rather cockerel-y, so I have a feeling we might have been unlucky with him, but if all four are...well, that would make me sad. Especially because behind Rose, Fili is the friendliest. He'll run over to perch on your hand.
He also has a habit of pecking and tugging on skin a bit, but that's usually from freckles I think. I love him.
So what do you think? Is it normal for chicks? Or do I have a batch of roosters on my hands?
Merle is the one that usually starts it, but it usually involves two chicks stretching to their full height, bobbing their heads, spreading their wings and sort of making fake goes at eachother. Nobody ever actually gets hurt, but they look an awful lot like roosters when they do it. Merlin is already starting to sort of walk rather cockerel-y, so I have a feeling we might have been unlucky with him, but if all four are...well, that would make me sad. Especially because behind Rose, Fili is the friendliest. He'll run over to perch on your hand.
He also has a habit of pecking and tugging on skin a bit, but that's usually from freckles I think. I love him.So what do you think? Is it normal for chicks? Or do I have a batch of roosters on my hands?
