Sumatra gender help...updated pics

[RuBaltLion]

I usually don’t youtube a lot but I every now and then I will and get sucked in for hours. I’ve watched a few homestead videos, mostly from homesteaders with big YouTubers channels. Might have to check out White House on the hill!

And totally agree with the whole chicken thing. I am a city girl and most people know me as a really girlie girl. They almost fall out of their chair when they ask what I did this weekend and I tell them cleaning stuck poop and feathers out of my chicken’s coop . And like you a few years ago I didn’t see myself owning chickens. I mean I saw chicks in a dumpbin at the feed store for weeks and eventually asked one of the workers to help me get everything I need for them. Next thing you know I’m outside in freezing cold weather past midnight re-enforcing a coop, hanging out with them after work, and spending my Saturdays bathing them lol.

Most people don’t get it and question me on owning chickens. Or tell me I can buy eggs for less work and money than having chickens. People don’t understand the appeal to having them. And as repetitive as they are, I very much enjoy chicken watching and just hanging out with them. Even if they spend 99% of their time scratching and pecking. It’s still fun to watch. It’s so hard to explain to people. The joy from owning chickens...you just don’t understand unless you have them!

And Birdie is extreamly talkative. Sometimes I wish she would shut up actually. Lol. She keeps getting louder and louder. Even flying up your head trying to hint she wants treats. The 2 other chicken don’t get a peep in with her blabber mouth. But if I’m not around she’s fairly quiet. I think she’s usually being extra because she wants me to bring her cashews or almonds, her favorite. She has expensive taste.

I would like to try a breed that likes people more. I love my Silkies but they are just soo scared of everything. Any Sumatras only like you for food haha. Both very sweet though. I almost got a lavender orpington a few weeks ago. When we were passing the chicks in the bin my boyfriend just looked at and said don’t you have enough?! I don’t! He still remembers when I originally told him I only was going to get 2. Now I have 3. But 3 is nothing! But if I want more I do need a bigger coop.

I totally agree on most people not knowing the appeal until you have them. Alot of places and city ordinances are changing to allow people to have at least 6 birds but most still dont allow roosters. I really like birds that talk to me and that was also another appeal to the Sumatra breed for me because my very first one was just like Birdie except she didnt jump on me much. Silkies being afraid of everyhing seems to come from the fact that they can't see that well because of the puff on their heads. Most people also like the convenience of just going to the store and buy eggs versus waiting 6+ months to get eggs. I hear orpingtons are very docile and sweet and also very popular for kids because of that. I hope to expand for new breeds in the future but right now I just have to pic and choose very carefully. I totally get sucked in to youtube for hours with homesteading videos.

 

[BirdieandFifi]

I totally agree on most people not knowing the appeal until you have them. Alot of places and city ordinances are changing to allow people to have at least 6 birds but most still dont allow roosters. I really like birds that talk to me and that was also another appeal to the Sumatra breed for me because my very first one was just like Birdie except she didnt jump on me much. Silkies being afraid of everyhing seems to come from the fact that they can't see that well because of the puff on their heads. Most people also like the convenience of just going to the store and buy eggs versus waiting 6+ months to get eggs. I hear orpingtons are very docile and sweet and also very popular for kids because of that. I hope to expand for new breeds in the future but right now I just have to pic and choose very carefully. I totally get sucked in to youtube for hours with homesteading videos.

I would like an Orpington, porcelain d’uccle, EE, and maybe a salmon favorolle for the pink eggs lol. But only the Orpington and EE seem capable to find here from the feed store. I can’t order from hatcheries online due to the order minimum.

And I agree about the silkies. They can’t see well. I’ve seen hours trying pony tails and headbands. They’re so good at taking them off. My little show line girl comes from really fluffy parents so she has a nice thick puff. Beautiful looking but it’s comical watching her trying to peck stuff off the ground. Or from your hand. She’ll end up taking your finger off she pecks so inaccurately. Defineltly can’t see! She does this thing where she dunks her head into their waterer every few hours. I think so she can see since the water makes her head fluff into a spiky hairdo.

On a side note, I did find out my silkie Fifi is a roo I didn’t want to believe it. Even thought maybe it was some other bird nearby. I kept going up to them waiting for a crow, both him and Birdie looked at me like rooster?! There’s no rooster here. Finally I played some rooster crowing from YouTube. Birdie tilted her head to the side and stayed silent listening. And fifi was getting all into it. All excited, flapping, and clucking it up. But he didn’t crow. I think he didn’t crow because was intimidated by the “other rooster” lol.

The next morning my boyfriend’s mother came super early in the morning. I saw him on the lookout in the run like he always is while Birdie gets some extra beauty sleep in the coop. He started to cluck a bunch. Birdie normally flies down to the run but that day she took a little extra time so finally she...I mean he (Fifi) started flapping his wings, straightening out, and belted a cacadoodledo. For the record his crow is pretty pathetic sounding. He has a lot of learning to do. But I’ve been so depressed about it. I don’t want to believe Fifi is a he! I don’t want him to become someone’s lunch or soup

 

[RuBaltLion]

I would like an Orpington, porcelain d’uccle, EE, and maybe a salmon favorolle for the pink eggs lol. But only the Orpington and EE seem capable to find here from the feed store. I can’t order from hatcheries online due to the order minimum.

And I agree about the silkies. They can’t see well. I’ve seen hours trying pony tails and headbands. They’re so good at taking them off. My little show line girl comes from really fluffy parents so she has a nice thick puff. Beautiful looking but it’s comical watching her trying to peck stuff off the ground. Or from your hand. She’ll end up taking your finger off she pecks so inaccurately. Defineltly can’t see! She does this thing where she dunks her head into their waterer every few hours. I think so she can see since the water makes her head fluff into a spiky hairdo.

On a side note, I did find out my silkie Fifi is a roo I didn’t want to believe it. Even thought maybe it was some other bird nearby. I kept going up to them waiting for a crow, both him and Birdie looked at me like rooster?! There’s no rooster here. Finally I played some rooster crowing from YouTube. Birdie tilted her head to the side and stayed silent listening. And fifi was getting all into it. All excited, flapping, and clucking it up. But he didn’t crow. I think he didn’t crow because was intimidated by the “other rooster” lol.

The next morning my boyfriend’s mother came super early in the morning. I saw him on the lookout in the run like he always is while Birdie gets some extra beauty sleep in the coop. He started to cluck a bunch. Birdie normally flies down to the run but that day she took a little extra time so finally she...I mean he (Fifi) started flapping his wings, straightening out, and belted a cacadoodledo. For the record his crow is pretty pathetic sounding. He has a lot of learning to do. But I’ve been so depressed about it. I don’t want to believe Fifi is a he! I don’t want him to become someone’s lunch or soup

Bummer a rooster. Can you have roosters where your at? I've been wanting to get a silkie rooster because I have 2 silkie girls. I love the very first crows because some do sound down right pathetic but cute at the same time . I really wanna get some Salmon Favorolles. I did see them one time at my local feed store and they wanted about 8 dollars a chick. I'm thinking about buying some french black copper maran eggs from a breeder but they're so expensive. I did have a buff orpington and she was very sweet. I want to get some of the english orpingtons because because they come in jubilee which is really just spangled and other colors too.

 

[BirdieandFifi]

Bummer a rooster. Can you have roosters where your at? I've been wanting to get a silkie rooster because I have 2 silkie girls. I love the very first crows because some do sound down right pathetic but cute at the same time . I really wanna get some Salmon Favorolles. I did see them one time at my local feed store and they wanted about 8 dollars a chick. I'm thinking about buying some french black copper maran eggs from a breeder but they're so expensive. I did have a buff orpington and she was very sweet. I want to get some of the english orpingtons because because they come in jubilee which is really just spangled and other colors too.

What? $8 a chick! My rooster was a straight run but he was $3.99 and Birdie is a “rare breed” so she was $4.99

The breeder I got my little splash silkie named Sparkles actually offers the roos for free. She DNA tests all her silkies for gender so she knows if they’re a roo at a few weeks old. She probably wouldn’t ship just one by itself since they can’t keep very warm if they ship alone but maybe she will if you’re not far. Just saying. Her birds are beautiful. All show quality. All colors. Lmk if you want her contact info!

The city I live in you can keep roosters (I think). Problem is the HOA for my community says no roosters (or farm animals actually) but I have a neighbor down the street with chickens and even peacock so I figure the HOA really has no leg to stand on if they get mad at me. One of the peacocks even got loose at greeted me at my front door lol. I live in the city so it was kinda funny. Thought I was in a dream or something. But idk about the whole rooster thing. It’s one thing to go against the HOA by having chicken. Another by having a roo. And I happen to be literally next door neighbors with one of the board members sooo

 

[RuBaltLion]

What? $8 a chick! My rooster was a straight run but he was $3.99 and Birdie is a “rare breed” so she was $4.99

The breeder I got my little splash silkie named Sparkles actually offers the roos for free. She DNA tests all her silkies for gender so she knows if they’re a roo at a few weeks old. She probably wouldn’t ship just one by itself since they can’t keep very warm if they ship alone but maybe she will if you’re not far. Just saying. Her birds are beautiful. All show quality. All colors. Lmk if you want her contact info!

The city I live in you can keep roosters (I think). Problem is the HOA for my community says no roosters (or farm animals actually) but I have a neighbor down the street with chickens and even peacock so I figure the HOA really has no leg to stand on if they get mad at me. One of the peacocks even got loose at greeted me at my front door lol. I live in the city so it was kinda funny. Thought I was in a dream or something. But idk about the whole rooster thing. It’s one thing to go against the HOA by having chicken. Another by having a roo. And I happen to be literally next door neighbors with one of the board members sooo

Yeah I definately wouldn't want to go against the HOA if I lived next door to a board member about the rooster but I would do the chickens though. The very first time I got a Sumatra chick was 1.25 a chick but the last couple years they been around the 3.69 to 3.99 a chick. I would love to have Peacocks. That would have been funny thinking that your in any kind of dream when an animal just shows up on your front porch. I will definitely let you know when I want that contact info for the silkies. I'm just not ready to add more just yet. I'm actually getting ready to build a breeding pen for my ameraucana/easter egger/olive egger chickens and hatch some of those eggs out. Do you have any updated pic of Birdie I would love to see them. I have my silkie sitting on 6 bantam eggs right now.

 

[ColtHandorf]

I used to breed bantam Black Sumatras. I'm going to disagree...

That looks like a little cockerel to me. Female Sumatras do sport longer tails than most breeds, but it's the curvature of the saddle feathers and the length of the tail that has me convinced it is a rooster. If you just do a cursory Google search for Sumatra chickens, scroll through the images and you can compare your bird to the hens there. I could be wrong of course. Seeing the bird in person would make it easier, but in the photo where the hackles are raised, those feathers are very pointed. Hens can hackle, but the feathers should still be more round and not that long. I would be very interested to see more pictures in a month or so. Sumatras are slow to develop, so it can be a bit of a waiting game. But I suspect if there were other Sumtras that bird's age it would be easier to compare it.

 

[BirdieandFifi]

I used to breed bantam Black Sumatras. I'm going to disagree...

That looks like a little cockerel to me. Female Sumatras do sport longer tails than most breeds, but it's the curvature of the saddle feathers and the length of the tail that has me convinced it is a rooster. If you just do a cursory Google search for Sumatra chickens, scroll through the images and you can compare your bird to the hens there. I could be wrong of course. Seeing the bird in person would make it easier, but in the photo where the hackles are raised, those feathers are very pointed. Hens can hackle, but the feathers should still be more round and not that long. I would be very interested to see more pictures in a month or so. Sumatras are slow to develop, so it can be a bit of a waiting game. But I suspect if there were other Sumtras that bird's age it would be easier to compare it.

That’s just the thing, I don’t have any of Birdie’s siblings. And Birdie is very dominant for a female if she is one. But I got a silkie chick after her who is now 4 months old and just started crowing. Birdie is 5 months, maybe a little older now. No crowing. Would uploading a video of her clucking and walking around help at all?

 

[BirdieandFifi]

Yeah I definately wouldn't want to go against the HOA if I lived next door to a board member about the rooster but I would do the chickens though. The very first time I got a Sumatra chick was 1.25 a chick but the last couple years they been around the 3.69 to 3.99 a chick. I would love to have Peacocks. That would have been funny thinking that your in any kind of dream when an animal just shows up on your front porch. I will definitely let you know when I want that contact info for the silkies. I'm just not ready to add more just yet. I'm actually getting ready to build a breeding pen for my ameraucana/easter egger/olive egger chickens and hatch some of those eggs out. Do you have any updated pic of Birdie I would love to see them. I have my silkie sitting on 6 bantam eggs right now.

Cute you have the silkie on the eggs. I always wondered how easily they will accept other’s eggs. I know there’s a way to do it but I know it’s tricky so they don’t figure out they’re not their eggs (unless the silkie is extra broody of course).

And I wish you were closer. I would totally buy one of your little EE’s. I want one! Haha but I could only take one so there would be no use shipping.

Here are updated pics of Birdie. I took them yesterday. She was telling me all about how hungry she was for like 5 minutes. The older she gets the more she talks. I really should upload a video. She is so funny. Never met a chicken like her.

Oh and excuse her long toe nails. I’m too “chicken” to cut them. They are so long though. Like she has an acrylic manicure

@Gray Farms would also love your opinion too! I know you also suspect roo

 

[BirdieandFifi]

Grumpy Birdie wanting to get fed already lol

 

[RuBaltLion]

I used to breed bantam Black Sumatras. I'm going to disagree...

That looks like a little cockerel to me. Female Sumatras do sport longer tails than most breeds, but it's the curvature of the saddle feathers and the length of the tail that has me convinced it is a rooster. If you just do a cursory Google search for Sumatra chickens, scroll through the images and you can compare your bird to the hens there. I could be wrong of course. Seeing the bird in person would make it easier, but in the photo where the hackles are raised, those feathers are very pointed. Hens can hackle, but the feathers should still be more round and not that long. I would be very interested to see more pictures in a month or so. Sumatras are slow to develop, so it can be a bit of a waiting game. But I suspect if there were other Sumtras that bird's age it would be easier to compare it.

I may be wrong too and it's a rooster but my splash hen Melon who I put pics up of. When she was young she looked almost identical to birdie at that age that I was almost convinced rooster but then turned out to be a hen. Do you still breed Sumatras?