I could do with a little assistance in deciding if 2 of my new hens are in fact not girls at all. My others have all been ex-bats and I know very little about the characteristics of other types of hen. These are apparently leghorn/pekin crosses (which I'm sure must be a really odd combination!). I got them a few weeks ago as POL pullets from a guy who was going to cull them. All of the cockerels had already been dealt with and these were the hens from the brood.
I've (hopefully) attached some pictures so you can see what they look like. There is a bantam from the same batch who isn't really comparable but is very obviously a hen, much 'dowdier' and a tail you would expect from a hen. These 2 have got a green metallic hue, drooping tails and they have recently developed some formidable wattles! One of them has also begun to attempt to crow, not very well but it is improving.
The 3 of them all get on most of the time but the largest has recently begun to get quite aggressive with the slightly smaller one, particularly when the bantam is close by. They are however all petrified of my original hens and get put in their place repeatedly and are showing absolutely no signs of dominance over then whatsoever.
When I got them they were all quite under-nourished and none (including the bantam) have started laying yet. I know that cockerels can be late developers sometimes, and surely it is the same for hens, particularly if they have been under-nourished as younger birds? Any thoughts would be well received.
I've (hopefully) attached some pictures so you can see what they look like. There is a bantam from the same batch who isn't really comparable but is very obviously a hen, much 'dowdier' and a tail you would expect from a hen. These 2 have got a green metallic hue, drooping tails and they have recently developed some formidable wattles! One of them has also begun to attempt to crow, not very well but it is improving.
The 3 of them all get on most of the time but the largest has recently begun to get quite aggressive with the slightly smaller one, particularly when the bantam is close by. They are however all petrified of my original hens and get put in their place repeatedly and are showing absolutely no signs of dominance over then whatsoever.
When I got them they were all quite under-nourished and none (including the bantam) have started laying yet. I know that cockerels can be late developers sometimes, and surely it is the same for hens, particularly if they have been under-nourished as younger birds? Any thoughts would be well received.
