What is a sapphire gem?

[Citychickengal]

Ours are fairly light...but still brownish. The first egg one laid was Halloween-worthy... no blood since then so think it was just the first egg pushing out!View attachment 1469836

I haven’t had any from my gem just yet, but I’ve had a couple other young birds lay bloody first eggs; always a little alarming looking!!

 

[renk777]

Omg I would have freaked and given it to my dog haha

I didn't freak but because it was small, I did give it to the dog haha

 

[renk777]

For those of you that are interested, Freezer and Camper were dispatched Sunday They were accustomed to being held often so it was a relatively quiet exit...as it should be. Their hatch date was 2/12/18 so they were about 5 months old...don't feel like doing the math for exact # of weeks. We don't free feed since we ferment our food so they ate a rationed amount and dressed out at 3.15 and 3.54 lbs. I think going forward, I'll separate and up the food intake for all potential freezer camp birds just to see if I can get a little more weight on them. But as it is, for a family of 5 with 3 small children in the mix, the 3+ weight suffices for a meal and some left over. Taste was good but I'm assuming that due to how active they were, dark meat was a little chewy. Super moist, though. I'm only accustomed to preparing store bought birds as a roast...our older girls usually become chili. Any tips on how to make young, free-range birds less chewy (as opposed to tough...which they were not). Once we move, we'd like to raise a meat breed annually. I like the idea of Cornish X due to the 5 to 6 week window but I heard Freedom/Red/etc Rangers taste better. They also require more of a time investment. From a health/quality of life standpoint, I prefer the Rangers. Especially if they taste better. But if we're free-ranging to offset feed cost, I don't want chewy or worse, tough birds! Any insight would be great!

 

[Chick_Momma]

Hi, everyone! I'vekinda been lurking and checking in periodically over the last couple of months. Finally decided to create an account so that I could ask a question. I ordered 4 SG babies in April from Hoover's. We kept 2 and gave 2 to a friend. I've been a little worried that I have a roo, because one of ours has very developed, dark red comb and wattles. The other has light pink, and it's not nearly as developed. The part that has been throwing me is that the one that has the red comb has recently started squatting when I go to pet her. She also does what I call "quick feet" and since I have never had chickens before, I have no idea what that's all about, but it cracks me up. She lets me pick her up and walk around the yard with her as I round the rest of the girls into the coop in the evenings, and she is my favorite of our 11 chickens. I really do not want to have to put her in the freezer, but I also really do not want a roo, since we live right in the middle of town (although we are allowed to have them). So, is it possible that both are girls, just one with small, pink comb and one with larger, red comb? I will try to get some pics in the morning to show y'all. They are both beautiful, and neither have any barring that I can see. They will be 15 weeks tomorrow.

 

[Barbs Girls]

Hi, everyone! I'vekinda been lurking and checking in periodically over the last couple of months. Finally decided to create an account so that I could ask a question. I ordered 4 SG babies in April from Hoover's. We kept 2 and gave 2 to a friend. I've been a little worried that I have a roo, because one of ours has very developed, dark red comb and wattles. The other has light pink, and it's not nearly as developed. The part that has been throwing me is that the one that has the red comb has recently started squatting when I go to pet her. She also does what I call "quick feet" and since I have never had chickens before, I have no idea what that's all about, but it cracks me up. She lets me pick her up and walk around the yard with her as I round the rest of the girls into the coop in the evenings, and she is my favorite of our 11 chickens. I really do not want to have to put her in the freezer, but I also really do not want a roo, since we live right in the middle of town (although we are allowed to have them). So, is it possible that both are girls, just one with small, pink comb and one with larger, red comb? I will try to get some pics in the morning to show y'all. They are both beautiful, and neither have any barring that I can see. They will be 15 weeks tomorrow.

Sounds like they are both pullets- girls. One of mine developed much faster and started laying about 2 weeks before the other. This behavior at 15 weeks should yield eggs in 2-1/2 weeks. That is what happened with ours. One had red waddles and comb and her sisters was small and pink.

 

[renk777]

Hi, everyone! I'vekinda been lurking and checking in periodically over the last couple of months. Finally decided to create an account so that I could ask a question. I ordered 4 SG babies in April from Hoover's. We kept 2 and gave 2 to a friend. I've been a little worried that I have a roo, because one of ours has very developed, dark red comb and wattles. The other has light pink, and it's not nearly as developed. The part that has been throwing me is that the one that has the red comb has recently started squatting when I go to pet her. She also does what I call "quick feet" and since I have never had chickens before, I have no idea what that's all about, but it cracks me up. She lets me pick her up and walk around the yard with her as I round the rest of the girls into the coop in the evenings, and she is my favorite of our 11 chickens. I really do not want to have to put her in the freezer, but I also really do not want a roo, since we live right in the middle of town (although we are allowed to have them). So, is it possible that both are girls, just one with small, pink comb and one with larger, red comb? I will try to get some pics in the morning to show y'all. They are both beautiful, and neither have any barring that I can see. They will be 15 weeks tomorrow.

Pics would help but I agree with ^^^. Ours are now 5 months and I STILL have disparity among pullet combs. Some are red and obvious...some are small and still pale. Sounds to me as though you got 2 girls. Look forward to those pics!

 

[Chick_Momma]

These are my blue babies, as they are affectionately known around the house. The first girl is Blueberry, and the second, lighter colored one is Jelly.

 

[Barbs Girls]

These are my blue babies, as they are affectionately known around the house. The first girl is Blueberry, and the second, lighter colored one is Jelly. View attachment 1472505 View attachment 1472506

Yup, very similar to how my girls were. Eggs are on their way!

 

[renk777]

These are my blue babies, as they are affectionately known around the house. The first girl is Blueberry, and the second, lighter colored one is Jelly. View attachment 1472505 View attachment 1472506

Both are pullets. Here are 2 pics at 5ish months that shows how fast/slow some mature...the first is a lagger haha The second shows one in between and one that matured really fast and also has her comb flopping over <3

 

[Mak24456]

Any opinions on sex and age? Feed store says 5 weeks old, but I’m not sure that’s true.