[nuzuki]

More piccys taken yesterday .... The saga continues







I think still 2 boys 2 girls but then im slightly biased being their owner. Is there any possibility the light sussex could be a hen? I have nothing to compare him/her too. I visited a farm last saturday and the light sussexs's on the farm had pretty big combs although they were females.

Thanks for your investigative help 

[Casey76]

Your sussex is 100% boy.  the comb on pullets doesn't start to grow until about 12-14 weeks, and they stay small and neat to the head.

This is an 8wk old Sussex boy:




With the Marans you wil need to wait a little while longer for confirmation.

[splash101]

I think you have 2 of each and the light sussex i would say is a boy  

[cheekychick22]

Id say the sussex is a boy the comb is weel developed my sussex pol has a very small comb at the moment

[jhub]

My 8 week old light Sussex looks the same as yours. I took her/ him back to the breeder who said it might be a well developed female but I felt happier exchanging for another LS - same age but no comb or wattles and much more timid.
I'm phoning the breeder in a couple  of weeks to confirm if she is in fact a he.

[nuzuki]

Thanks for the replies. From the attitude of the light sussex I would say it is indeed a he. He's very bossy with the other lot, has to be the first to get to the feed when its replaced. Hes the one who at an early age started scratching food out of the dish and all over the brooder. Generally I would say his behaiviour is boyish to say the least. If hes not too noisey i'll keep him. I have some other light sussex eggs on order and ive heard if breeding its best to run with an unrelated cockerel so that would be my only excuse for keeping him. We only have neighbours on one side (edge of the village) so if they dont complain he's staying. I was thinking the same with the maran cockerel too but what are the downsides to using a related cockerel?

The run I am building (30ft x 20ft) I shall divide into 3 and build another 2 coops if I were to go down this route. I would keep 2 breeds (3 or 4 hens and a cockerel in each) and then a mixed flock of girls just for eggs. But really im just getting ahead of myself with ideas from when I visited a chicken breeder last saturday