LukeChickens

In the Brooder
Aug 13, 2021
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Hi everyone,
I am brand new to backyard chickens and need help.

the person I bought these off have said they are all hens and doesn’t know what age they are.

Can you let me know if you think they are all hens and an approximate age if possible?
 

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Very nice pullets - all of them. Looks like they will be laying in about 5-8 weeks. Right now their combs are pale pink, they will get much redder, and when they do, about 3-4 weeks the first eggs will appear. No roosters that I see, at this age, roosters are pretty evident. A very nice flock to start with.

Mrs K
 
Very nice pullets - all of them. Looks like they will be laying in about 5-8 weeks. Right now their combs are pale pink, they will get much redder, and when they do, about 3-4 weeks the first eggs will appear. No roosters that I see, at this age, roosters are pretty evident. A very nice flock to start with.

Mrs K
Thank you. How can I be sure of age and sex? Any tips or better photos?
 
I think you are asking what is it that I am seeing? What I see is very healthy, active young birds. They have all of their adult feathers, there is no baby fuzz on them. They are slightly smaller than an adult bird, so are still growing, but will reach full size soon. I would estimate that these were 3 months old. This is a flock I would love to add to my coop, can I ask what you gave for them?

The most important clue, is their combs. The combs are a pale pink, not too big. That will be the next change, the combs will become bright red, and then 3-4 weeks later, will begin laying. It is a visual clue to the rooster, that the hen is approaching breeding age. In an established flock, of multi-generations, roosters mostly ignore pullets until they redden up.

There is really no need to know exact ages, general ages are all that are needed for most health issues. You don't need to know, except that this group is the oldest group, 2 year olds, yearlings and pullets.

Hen chicks, called pullets are birds that are approaching full size - which depending on the breed is about 4-6 months. They have the pale pink combs and wattles. They have fuzzy butts, and their tails point up. Once they are fully mature, their combs turn bright red. Once they begin laying eggs, the first ones will be small, called pullet eggs. But within weeks, the eggs will be much bigger. At that time they are a hen. After that, there is no sure way of knowing their age - unless you band their legs with zip ties, or do a toe punch.

It is VERY hard to identify an age for positive, for an unknown bird between the ages of 8 months and 3 years, to me, after 3 years, they begin to look old, a little more crooked, a little stiffer, a little more crabby.

Rooster chicks, or cockerels chicks, tend to be more friendly in the beginning, people fall in love with rooster chicks because what appears as friendly behavior is natural braveness. These chicks are not afraid of you, because they are so confident. But these chicks often turn very aggressive. It seems so counter intuitive, but chickens are not like puppies and cats, where as if you are nice to them, they are nice to you. Chicken society is each bird is either above or below. Aggressive roosters tend to think people should be below them and will attack. Roosters can be dangerous.

To tell a rooster, they generally are taller than the pullets by 5-6 weeks of age, their comb begins to redden up quite brightly by 7-10 weeks, by the time they are three or four months old, they are much bigger, have a curved tail forming, and long pointy feathers off their neck, and saddle feathers right before their tail.

Mrs K
 
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Thank you very much. We are based in the UK so we have a lot of buffs over here and they are quite in expensive.

I’ll try to post better pictures of the ones I thought were cockereLes. I don’t want two of them fighting.
 
I think you are asking what is it that I am seeing? What I see is very healthy, active young birds. They have all of their adult feathers, there is no baby fuzz on them. They are slightly smaller than an adult bird, so are still growing, but will reach full size soon. I would estimate that these were 3 months old. This is a flock I would love to add to my coop, can I ask what you gave for them?

The most important clue, is their combs. The combs are a pale pink, not too big. That will be the next change, the combs will become bright red, and then 3-4 weeks later, will begin laying. It is a visual clue to the rooster, that the hen is approaching breeding age. In an established flock, of multi-generations, roosters mostly ignore pullets until they redden up.

There is really no need to know exact ages, general ages are all that are needed for most health issues. You don't need to know, except that this group is the oldest group, 2 year olds, yearlings and pullets.

Hen chicks, called pullets are birds that are approaching full size - which depending on the breed is about 4-6 months. They have the pale pink combs and wattles. They have fuzzy butts, and their tails point up. Once they are fully mature, their combs turn bright red. Once they begin laying eggs, the first ones will be small, called pullet eggs. But within weeks, the eggs will be much bigger. At that time they are a hen. After that, there is no sure way of knowing their age - unless you band their legs with zip ties, or do a toe punch.

It is VERY hard to identify an age for positive, for an unknown bird between the ages of 8 months and 3 years, to me, after 3 years, they begin to look old, a little more crooked, a little stiffer, a little more crabby.

Rooster chicks, or cockerels chicks, tend to be more friendly in the beginning, people fall in love with rooster chicks because what appears as friendly behavior is natural braveness. These chicks are not afraid of you, because they are so confident. But these chicks often turn very aggressive. It seems so counter intuitive, but chickens are not like puppies and cats, where as if you are nice to them, they are nice to you. Chicken society is each bird is either above or below. Aggressive roosters tend to think people should be below them and will attack. Roosters can be dangerous.

To tell a rooster, they generally are taller than the pullets by 5-6 weeks of age, their comb begins to redden up quite brightly by 7-10 weeks, by the time they are three or four months old, they are much bigger, have a curved tail forming, and long pointy feathers off their neck, and saddle feathers right before their tail.

Mrs K
Friendly Cockerel chicks aren't always mean. Alot of my friendly cockerels stay friendly, even as roosters.

It can really go either way with both the shy, curious, & friendly cockerel chicks can either become aggressive, or friendly roosters.

I also believe the aggression can be hereditary, meaning the father, or grandpa, or great grandpa was aggressive, & it got passed down through the generations.
 
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