Roo?

[Sylie]

I know, I know...can't tell till they are older but come on... Weigh in... Roo or hen to be?

This is one of my JG's and she had a significant comb at 2 weeks old where the other one has no comb. Return her or keep her and take the risk of having to rehome later?

I can't seem to put the video in here with Tapatalk (it's too long) so I guess I can't show you. I could not get a still pic of her comb because she is super hyper and will not be still long enough to take it.

But yeah 2 weeks old and has a very noticeable deep yellow comb.

Opinions?

[dawg53]

Sounds like a roo to me. It might be best to return him now.

[Sylie]

Mar 11, 2019 19:30:07 GMT -5 dawg53 said:

Sounds like a roo to me. It might be best to return him now.

Yeah that was my first thought. The only thing that makes me hesitate is that in every other way, he appears female, stance, behavior, wing length, tail development. As a matter of fact, he developed wing and tail feathers before anyone else (the 2 wyandottes are females, presexed at the hatchery) and now has shoulder pin feathers a full 4 days before the girls. I always thought roo's were slower to develop than hens (I know...correct terms are cockeral and pullet but roo and hen is shorter to type and you all know what I'm talking about lol). So none of this adds up.  I have been holding off returning him to see if the other JG pops out a comb but so far, nope. She has teeny tiny ridge that you have to look very close at to see and it's dark like her head. (I think they are both blue's, not blacks) 

[Sylie]

Mar 11, 2019 22:53:25 GMT -5 Sylie said:

Mar 11, 2019 19:30:07 GMT -5 dawg53 said:

Sounds like a roo to me. It might be best to return him now.

Yeah that was my first thought. The only thing that makes me hesitate is that in every other way, he appears female, stance, behavior, wing length, tail development. As a matter of fact, he developed wing and tail feathers before anyone else (the 2 wyandottes are females, presexed at the hatchery) and now has shoulder pin feathers a full 4 days before the girls. I always thought roo's were slower to develop than hens (I know...correct terms are cockeral and pullet but roo and hen is shorter to type and you all know what I'm talking about lol). So none of this adds up.  I have been holding off returning him to see if the other JG pops out a comb but so far, nope. She has teeny tiny ridge that you have to look very close at to see and it's dark like her head. (I think they are both blue's, not blacks) 

I got some pics just now. They are foggy, sorry but I think you can see whati was talking about.

The first one is the sister to compare
What do you think?

[dawg53]

Hmmmm, I agree with you Sylie and the pics helped. There's no signs of wattles yet. One chick may simply develop slower than the other. Yeah, I'd wait too.

[maryellen]

Wait. That could be a pullet. I dont see any red nor wattles

[seminolewind]

Sylie my first 3 Jersey chicks were all so different. One was way ahead of the other 2 in maturing charateristics. Figured she was an accidental male til she laid an egg! So don't be in a hurry. You never know.

[Sylie]

The comb only came out a couple of days ago, no, I don't see any signs of wattles and no it's not red but would I expect red on such a young one? (remember she is only 2 weeks old). The biggest problem with waiting to know for sure is that I have only one place to "rehome" him/her to after April and that's a lady that would immediately butcher him. So that's not exactly rehoming lol, kinda, depends on how you look at it.

Off subject...look at the first picture, the sister to the chick in question. She has such a serene, happy, female look, then look at the other 2 pics of the bird in question...such a grumpy, male look hahaha. (not that men are grumpy, those are nonrelated descriptors...no offense Dawg!)

Now, with all of this being said, I inspected the one I think is a girl (Denala) today and it does appear that her comb is getting bigger and turning yellow. It's a very minute change but it's there none the less (wishful thinking?) I am hoping and tending to think that the one in question (Tanji for crying out loud lol) is a girl but about 4 days older than her sister (Denala). Since she made all the developmental markers about 3-4 days before the rest of the mini flock. (these 4 are being referred to as the "mini flock" at my house)

So general consensus is that it is still possible it's a pullet and I should wait to do anything. If I'm going to take it back to the store, I have to do that before April when Chick days are over, they won't take it back once chick days are done. After Chick days I'll have to keep it until it's of size and age to be butchered then the lady will take him and do the deed.

I do apologize for all of the babbling

[Sylie]

UPDATE: Okay, so..I'm thinking it's entirely possible that my roo in question is a pullet after all. There has been zero change in the comb, he does have tiny little wattles which are a little pink but all of the chicks have matching wattles, tiny and red. His comb is still yellow and still small, the other JG has a matching comb now and of course the SLW's have rose combs so I can't fairly compare. The SLW's combs are pink. So over all, considering there is very possibly an age difference, I think it's looking good! I don't dare get excited or overly hopeful, it just wouldn't be my luck to get all girls but I am reservedly hopeful for this one

[seminolewind]

Looks like a pullet. However that one standing behind her...…….

[Sylie]

hahahaha funny funny. Yeah I'm pretty sure that one is a roo, time will tell bahahaa

[Sylie]

UPDATE: The Jersey giants are both girls!!! omg you better agree with me or else! hahaha...today, I went to pet Denala and she squatted! then I went to pet Tanji and she squatted too! I'm so relieved, please tell me this means they are for sure girls. It seems really early for that though, they are just 3 1/2 months old but there is absolutely no doubt they squatted like my adults do when I went to pet them. Just to be sure (I know what squatting looks like but I couldn't believe it) I had my husband come out and try it and they squatted for him too. Roo's don't squat...

I kind of wonder if the reason Tanji's comb and wattles are so much bigger is that she is the boss of the mini flock.

Now, saying this is definitely a sign that they are girls, it's very early for them to be ready for laying, but if they are getting ready, should I switch the whole mini flock to layer feed? I just switched them to finisher a week ago. I doubt I can switch just the giants without switching the SLW's too, they live together. Should I just stay with finisher until the SLW's catch up? I could put oyster shell in their feed area for the JG's or is it too soon and the SLW's will eat it too and screw up their growth?

This is all information that I know that I know but I'm just so incredibly excited and relieved that I can't think straight.

[maryellen]

Yes they are females! .
When they squat for you that usually mea s they are getting close to laying

[Sylie]

Woooot!!! I knew they were because of the squatting but I just needed confirmation, just for my own peace of mind.

So what about the feed issue? The wyandottes are not squatting but their combs and wattles are getting more red by the day. Do I switch them to all to layer feed or just put out some oyster shell for the JG's? or just leave them on the finisher until everyone is squatting?

And...isn't it a little early for them to be getting ready to lay? I thought JG's were later than standard sized breeds.

[maryellen]

You can add layer feed to the chick feed and transfer them over slowly. Production birds lay earlier then breeder birds as they are bred to lay earlier, so all hatchery birds start laying way before breeder birds

[Sylie]

hmm, interesting. all of my birds have always started laying around 4 and a half months old, my reds, my PBR's, even my bantam cornish cross I had years ago. Then I read that JG's develop at a slower rate than standard because of their size so they don't start laying until around 6 months old. I don't know production from breeder from a hole in the wall lol they are all just chickens. They all lay eggs and they all have meat. I understand that some breeds are bred specifically for their meat and some are bred for better and more eggs but as to which breed is which...not a clue. So to my limited knowledge, average speaking, they generally start laying around 4 - 5 months old except the JG's which lay at 6 months old. (That has always been my understanding, I'm not correcting you, just stating what I have experienced or read over the years) Sooooo....I was surprised to see squatting in a JG at 3 and a half months. My wyandottes still aren't squatting.

All of my birds have been hatchery birds, I have never gotten one from a breeder. I probably never will simply because I feel sorry for hatchery birds. They are treated like crap and disposed of like waste paper if they don't sell.

I will start mixing the feed this weekend, I need to buy a new bag of layer feed anyway so it will be a good time to start. Should I put out some oyster shell yet or hang loose until I actually get an egg?

Thx!

[maryellen]

If the JGs are hatchery birds they might start laying soon. You can put oyster shell out and mix some layer feed with the chick feed

[maryellen]

Most of my birds are breeder birds so they didnt start laying till 6-9 months old

[Sylie]

Yes, all of my birds, including my JG's are hatchery. I don't mind if they lay sooner rather than later or if they lay later rather than sooner, just so long as they are girls! I'm so tired of trying to find homes for roosters! lol I get attached to them and then have to give them up.

I'll do the feed thing like you suggested, I've never had this happen before where part of the same flock is at different stages. All of my other groups have always been right together. Of course, I've never had a mixed breed mini flock before either. Learn something new everyday!

Thx ME!

[maryellen]

Youre welcome! I have mixed age birds and i have 4 food bowls out mixed with all flock, layer, chick food . Everyone gets what they need(hopefully)