Ohiofarmgirl's Adventures in The Good Land is largely a fish out of water tale about how I eventually found my footing on a small farm in an Amish town. We are a mostly organic, somewhat self sufficient, sustainable farm in Ohio. There's action and adventure and I'll always tell you the truth about farming.


Monday, February 14, 2011

Miss Blue or Mr. Noodles? ** UPDATE

This is definitely one of the most beautifully colored chicks we've ever had. She was one of Floppy's Five from her fall hatch. But the thing is... I can't tell if she's a pullet or a young roo.

You can click on the picture to enlarge it. Her black feathers have a dark blue tinge.

She/he acts like a roo - running with another roo, sometimes wildly, and is a little flighty. But then Black Jack, our mature roo from early last spring, has been chasing her around giving her the business. This could just be a ..er...ahem...dominance behavior tho. And I've heard of cases where chickens actually change sex!

I caught her mid-shake but you can see her plume developing.

The other oddity is that he/she hasn't crowed, but she/he has the beginnings of this beautiful plumed tail.  His/her comb isn't a great indicator either as its a small rose comb. Our chickens with these kinds of combs tend to mature slowly so there is no way to tell now.

So I just don't know if this chicken will turn out to be Miss Blue or Mr. Noodles. Any body have any guesses?

----------------------
Feb. 15th - UPDATE

Wouldn't you know it... DRAT! I went out this morning with the dogs and I heard crowing. Since I hadn't opened the hen house door I knew that one of the roos didn't make it in last nite but I figured it was the long legged red roo...Dang. And there was this blue one standing there crowing his fool head off. Well. There you have it.

Great work everyone who said roo. He can now be named Mr. Noodles and will be sent to glory on our next roo day. Drat drat drat. Oh well. Maybe we'll get a similarly colored pullet in this years hatch.

13 comments:

Robin said...

Maybe you have a gender reassignment doctor amongst your group :)

Mama Mess said...

Does it have little nubs on it's back legs above the feet? That's usually the best indicator for us when we just can't tell. Those nubs will turn into spurs if it's a rooster. I think it's a rooster myself, but it will be fun to see!

Unknown said...

Before I even ready your comments I thought 'that's a nice looking roo'...I see some very pointy feathers on the backside. It's a wait and see.

Lori said...

I'm voting Roo. Looks like hackle feathers and the ... saddle?... feathers are there.

Living~Laughing~Loving said...

From the saddle feathers, I'm thinking roo. Also, being really submissive can delay their crowing pretty significantly.

Chai Chai said...

"....running with another roo, sometimes wildly, and is a little flighty" Sounds like a teenage girl to me!

Peskychicken said...

I'm placing my bet that he's a roo. Either way he/she is a fine looking chicken.

Cheers,
Peskychicken

Kelle at The Never Done Farm said...

Looks like a hen to me, by this size they comb and wattles would be larger if it were a rooster. Just my opinion though*wink*

Love the colors, if it is a hen wonder what color egg she'll lay?

Blessings,
Kelle

Ohiofarmgirl said...

Oh the jokes I could make about that, Robin.. hee hee hee.
;-)

Its kinda hard to tell GW, I'm telling you this is an "indeterminate" chicken if I've ever seen one.

Hey Java! The tail is what throws me.. I dunno...

I'm putting you down for "roo", Lori. Thats my inclination also but the attention from Black Jack is rather..er.. vigorous.

Hi LLL! Good call on the saddle. Or.. hee hee hee... that chicken knows our slogan around here: "when you start to crow, you got to go!"
;-)

hey CC! I'll check facebook to see what her/his friends are saying. hey - do you think its an "emo" chicken? ha ha ha ha ha ha golly..

hey peskychicken! Gosh your username sounds familiar.. humm. Anyway, so roo huh? If s/he fought back it would be more obvious. But mostly there is just a lot of running around, wildly.

Gingerbreadshouse7 said...

I'm glad I know the front from the back :o) Only because of the location of the beak...:o)

Mr. H. said...

Look at those long legs, my guess is that she's a boy.:)

Ohiofarmgirl said...

Hi Ginny! Thats a good start on chicken knowledge. hee hee hee

Thanks Kelle! We get a full spectrum of colors from our ladies. One lays a reddish-brick colored egg.

Good call Mr H! You are just right. I can't remember if you have roosters also?

Mr. H. said...

We had two roosters for a couple years, and then one, and now none...I'm going to stick with none for a while, not forever but for little while.

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