It's been almost four months since Specklebutt Jr., aka "Little Peeper", was born. We still don't know if Peeper is a hen or a rooster. A crossbreed of an Ameraucana hen and a White Leghorn rooster, s/he's flighty and wary, made all the more nervous by the fact s/he's at the bottom of the pecking order. S/he usually sleeps away from the rest of the chickens, although the second-to-the-last chicken in the pecking order - one of the Sicilian Buttercups - will often roost with her/him.Peeper hasn't crowed yet. The Leghorn roos were crowing at six weeks of age, but since we don't have an Ameraucana roo for comparison, it's hard to say if this is normal or not. Peeper does have some of the long-ish feathers like the Leghorn roo, but since I've not seen a Leghorn hen, can't say if this determines Peeper's gender or not either. All I know right now is that I'm gonna have to get a ladder into the tree to grab Peeper & the Sicilian companion tonight for a thorough head-lice powdering. Wish me luck.
That comb to me looks hen-ish. I could be wrong though...
ReplyDeleteHard to say, indeed. As far as lice-if you're are using a permethrin type product, a friend gave me a tip-one drop of frontline under the tail, per chicken. It is also a permethrin product, easier to apply, but the only sketch part is, it is more systemic. I will now try to hush with my unsolicited advice.
ReplyDeleteI agree with joy but you can NEVER be sure as some cockerels develop literally in one week!
ReplyDelete@Joy - it's so hard to say, as pics of Ameraucana roosters show anything from a largish to a tiny comb. Hoping it's a gal, tho!
ReplyDelete@Sara - how long would we have to forgo eggs? Same as a de-worming process, about six weeks?
@John - oh heck yeah. Our belated Barred Rock roos seemed to do that!
It is such a small amount to be effective, I would say 30 days at the most. I need to look more into how that stuff works-
ReplyDeleteLooks like a hen to me, but I've never had an Americauna-Leghorn cross. I'm very curious to see what h/she turns out to be. Please keep us posted!
ReplyDeleteI'm having the same issue with my four chickens aged 12 and 14 weeks. This is my first experience with chickens so I waffle from day to day as to whether their hens or roos. I'm hopeful that they're hens since I'm not allowed to keep roosters here in town. Two of my chooks are Rhode Island Reds. I'm pretty sure that one is a hen, but the other is starting to develop a dark "collar" around its neck and longish dark tail feathers. The other two are "buffs". I asked if they were Orpingtons, but the farmer wasn't sure as they could be cross-breeds of any of his chickens. If anyone wants to look at them here: http://hippieingeeksclothing.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/traverse-city-urban-chickens-finally-get-some-press/ and provide feedback, that'd be ever so helpful!
ReplyDelete@hippieingeeksclothing: looked at the pic, and really can't tell. What little experience I have telling hens from roos are that roos tend to have longer, pointier feathers that spread down their necks and onto their backs a bit, plus their tailfeathers are often pointy-er, with two or more becoming really long and curving. Good luck to you!
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