Two questions, five weeks after the birth

[goffeur33]

Hi there,
This is my first post and join this forum because I'm new in this hobby.
I start getting my first pullet four months ago. The day after she was gone by opening the wire mesh of the home made coop.
After fixing and consolidate the coop, I bought two hens because I understood that the hen was lonely. And finally the first hen came back.
I won't tell all the story but I have 3 hens. Two months ago, one was brooding with no egg under. My nice neighbour gave me a fertilized egg that I put under (indeed 3 eggs). Then 5 weeks ago, a cute baby chick is born. (an other one was killed by a jalous hen - my mistake)
I followed the first week with my camera (here is a YouTube link of a small video for those who could be interested:

).
Today, the mum still take car of the baby and everything is fine but I'm hurried to know what will happen soon.
Here is my 2 questions :
1- Is it possible to know the gender of a 5 weeks old chick?
2- When will the mum lay again? (because for the moment I only have 2 eggs per day, even less with the heat)

Thanks in advance for your answers. I hope I'm understandable because of my basic English.
Cheers everybody,
Goffeur

 

[goffeur33]

If you don't have the heart to kill him for meat (if it does indeed turn out to be a male) you may have some success rehoming.
Or keep him.
Do you want a cockerel in your flock?
They can be useful, and really sweet.
Wait until he is older before deciding to keep him, as hormones can cause them to become aggressive, and it could be hard on both you and the hens.

I love eating chicken but I can't kill my first baby, it was so stressful to take care of him during the first weeks - we have around 3 aldult cats, but the main problem was the two other hens, so agressive - I had to put a cage inside the coop for the night.
I hope he will become a sweet cockerel.
Thank you some much for your answers.

 

[The Happster]

That's a girl! She's adorable.

 

[The Happster]

Your English is good.

It does depend on the hen, but it's likely she will lay relatively soon.
My most recent broody began laying again four weeks after the chick hatched.

If you post a photo of the chick, we should be able to help you with the gender.

 

[goffeur33]

Your English is good.

It does depend on the hen, but it's likely she will lay relatively soon.
My most recent broody began laying again four weeks after the chick hatched.

If you post a photo of the chick, we should be able to help you with the gender.

Thank you very much for your answer.
I'm very happy to learn that the mother will soon work again and that you can predict the gender of the baby chick. I will put the picture quickly on the forum (unfortunalty I'm away from the coop these days). The last picture was 2 weeks ago when the baby chick was 3 weeks old. I attach it in case of. Thanks again

 

[goffeur33]

Updated photos again will help, when you can get them.
Comb is fairly small, but pattern is quite random, which indicates male.
Any idea what breed the chick is?

My neighbour who gave me the egg have a lot of red hens. Now It's true the pattern is even more random. About the behavior of the baby, he's very noisy and not afraid of the other hens. But I don't know if that help you.

 

[goffeur33]

I'm leaning cockerel, but it's hard to say without the 5 week photos.

If you see red in the comb at this age, it's a cockerel.

It's a bit sad if it's the case, but that's the nature. Will put an other picture later. And I still have a lot of time to think how to behave with a cockerel in the team. What most of people do with a cockerel ?

 

[The Happster]

If you don't have the heart to kill him for meat (if it does indeed turn out to be a male) you may have some success rehoming.
Or keep him.
Do you want a cockerel in your flock?
They can be useful, and really sweet.
Wait until he is older before deciding to keep him, as hormones can cause them to become aggressive, and it could be hard on both you and the hens.

 

[The Happster]

Photos aren't very clear. Need a clear photo of the head, including the comb and wattles, if that's ok. No pressure, just when you get the time.
I don't see much comb development at the moment, which is a good sign.

 

[goffeur33]

All right I will do that on Sunday when I will be back.
Also, I've an other question.
I will have to leave again in one week to keep a house 400 km away.
What's the best option ?
1- Take the 3 hens and the chick in a box with me (there is a quite big garden there)
2- Give the 4 animals to my neighbour. He already have 10 hens in his coop. I'm afraid that the other hens could be agressive with the newcomers especially with the little one.
Thanks