Too Many Boys

It's about that time. Time to thin the flock, that is. The chickens are now about 4 months old, and some of the roosters have started crowing. They've also started asserting their dominance and are creating a pecking order, as it were.

I'm still having a hard time figuring out exactly which are the boys, but some are more obvious than others.

One of the two remaining Speckled Sussex. Not sure if this one is a boy or girl.
A Cuckoo Marans. Pretty sure this is a rooster. I think I'll name him "Stu".
Here's the other Speckled Sussex. She doesn't have much of a tail.
This is the Wheaton Marans rooster I got as an egg off of e-bay.

If I keep any of the roosters it will be him. This isn't the best photo of him, but he is pretty.

I've talked my husband into "taking care" of the roosters for me. After all he is an avid bird hunter and does all that stuff with the doves, quail, and ducks he manages to shoot. The only experience I have with processing an animal is from when I raised and sold rabbits a long time ago. That's a story I just haven't gotten around to telling yet, but eventually I will I suppose.

Here is a picture of my oldest hen. I can't even remember what breed she's supposed to be. I got her from the feed store as a chick. She used to lay brown eggs, but now she just hangs around eating and drinking and trying to stay out of the way of the younger chickens. She has a most unusual comb and I don't know if it's normal or if it is like this because it got injured or it just grew deformed like this.

Click on the pictures to enlarge and you may see what I'm talking about. It looks like it's a tube, with a hole going all the way through. Otherwise, if you don't look closely at her she just looks like a chicken with a cushion comb. Of course I haven't yet picked her up to examine it that closely.

I'll let you know how our first "Stu" goes. I may end up just selling the roosters for a few bucks, but I'm afraid around here that may mean an unkind fate, so I'll have to wait and see.