Another dumb newbie question

[Guest]

K...so I have these feed-store Ameraucanas to keep us in \"Easter eggs\" while I work on obtaining and raising some REAL Ameraucanas.

I got \'em toward the end of February, so they are 3 mos old.

I\'m embarrassed to admit it, but I\'m having a REALLY hard time telling the boys from the girls.  They\'re all looking the same to me.  I know to look for the pointed hackle feathers, and the saddle feathers...but these are all looking the same to me.

Am I missing something?  

Actually, I KNOW I am missing something.  So what am I missing--what should I look for?

I\'d rather not wait for them to crow, if I can help it...with chick feed the price that it is if its a boy I\'d rather feed it to the dogs now instead of putting more money into it.

Thoughts?  Thanks all!

[Guest]

You should be able to tell from the comb. By three moths the comb is much bigger in males and is red. Males will also be bigger than females- bigger feet and heavier body.

Post some pics.

Tim

[Paul]

I would wait another 6 weeks and butcher the cockerels.  They are very good eating-Why waste it on the dog and teach them to kill chickens?

[Guest]

Since many feed stores only order pullets, perhaps the thing you\'re missing is a cockeral  

...Kelley

[Guest]

Since many feed stores only order pullets, perhaps the thing you\'re missing is a cockeral  

...Kelley

Unfortunately, they were straight run.  I would just LOVE it though if they all ended up pullets!  It wouldn\'t be my usual luck to have it turn out that way though.

[Guest]

I would wait another 6 weeks and butcher the cockerels.  They are very good eating-Why waste it on the dog and teach them to kill chickens?

Hm...well...I hear roos taste better when they\'ve been caponized, and I don\'t know how or have the equipment to do that.  I also have never butchered a bird before, not that I\'d be adverse to learning if I could find someone to teach me.

My dogs eat a raw diet, and feeding them meat hasn\'t taught them to chase anything.  I am just looking to save some money on dog food.  That part\'s easy--I can kill the birds, but the dogs butcher \'em themselves.

I dunno, I guess I\'m worried about doing it right if I butcher for myself.  I have a book with illustrations showing how to do it, but again I never have...so I\'m a bit nervous about trying it without some initial help from someone who knows what they\'re doing.

[Guest]

Unfortunately, they were straight run.  I would just LOVE it though if they all ended up pullets!  It wouldn\'t be my usual luck to have it turn out that way though.

One can always hope, right??

[Guest]

Hi Rcky,
Capons taste better? I just thought that was something the french did to be pfancy (and maybe make them fat) I have raised broiler chickens for many years, and have never noticed a taste difference between the males and females.

[Guest]

Okay I finally got pictures of my unknown gender chickens.  I\'m really embarrassed about this but they are February birds, so 4 months old now, and I still can\'t figure it out.  I have a hard time posting pictures on this forum large enough to see anything but small enough that the forum will allow it, so they are on the ABC Shareing Place at

http://groups.msn.com/ABCShareingPlace/girlsorboys.msnw?Page=1

Please tell me if you think these are roos or pullets...they all look the same, to me!  NONE of them really look much different to me.

Thanks all!

Liz in Utah

[Guest]

Hi Rcky,
Capons taste better? I just thought that was something the french did to be pfancy (and maybe make them fat) I have raised broiler chickens for many years, and have never noticed a taste difference between the males and females.

I honestly don\'t know, one way or the other.  I\'ve only had layers before, and they\'d only been laying a few months when I traded them for something I needed more at the time...so I\'ve never butchered anyone.

Thanks for the thoughts, I\'m trying hard to learn

Liz in Utah

[Guest]

I\'ve seen lots of EE hens colored similarly to your chickens, but I\'ve never seen any EE roos colored like that. Sooo... maybe they\'re all hens? The combs look small to me, too, but I\'m not an expert at gender identification of that age.

[Guest]

Liz,

I viewed your photos.  I hate to tell you this but the people who sold you the chicks slipped in a duck.  B)

I bought 15 EE chicks (pullets) a year ago.  Of the 15, 2 turned out to be roosters.  Unlike the pullets, they were 80% white.  At three months they were much taller and their legs are MUCH bigger.  You cannot help but notice how much they stand out.
Those birds of yours are all hens.

Andy

[Mike Gilbert]

Agreed.   All the pictures are of pullets.

[Guest]

Oh...wow...now I have 11 laying hens, plus the Ameraucanas, and a trio of RIR pullets that I bought for the DH. This is not how my usual luck runs.  Unless you count an overabundance as almost as bad as a total UNDERabundance?

Thanks so much guys...what a weird occurrence!  How do you end up with a dozen pullets out of a \"straight run\" batch?

Thanks again for the...um...good news!

Liz in Utah

[Mike Gilbert]

On those pictures where I could see the shanks (legs), they were willow.   That means your birds have yellow skin, so are also E.E.\'s as Ameraucanas must have slate (black in some varieties) legs and white skin.  Plus the colors are non-standard as well.   They look like they should make good layers.   Enjoy your birds, and when you are ready for standard-bred Ameraucanas check out the breeders directory on this website.  Best of luck to you.