I have a couple Qs, Could you help???

Question

I have a 2 chickens. One of them is my hen Jewel who I have had for 2 years. The other is one of Jewels eggs that were fertilized named Moon. I have a situation.

1.) How do you tell if Moons a cockerel or pullet? How old do they have to be?

2.) If Moon is a rooster, and he mates with Jewel, will there be deformaties in the chciks or not?

I have a Bluejay who I have reared from a baby who the mother was killed by a ca. I found him all skinny and really weak. I hva contacted several people and a couple wouldnt tell me and others told me what to do. I have dont lots of research so I know what they eat. He already knows what they do, he gets some wild bird seed and cracks it open by himself. Also he is almost able to fly. I teach him by getting food and he knows I have it and he flys up on my hand and then I praise him and give him the food. I also showed him my cat who doesnt really bother him and he kinda already knows what to do, He attacks and stays away fro the cat and stuff. He goes outside durring the day and likes to be int he trees. He always when I out him on hte ground goes and climbs on things, which is great because he can look out for preditors. Also there are some young bluejays, there younger than him but they come up to him he seems ok witht hem. He seen them a bit often. Its noth his nom, there too small to be the mom or dad. I feed him wild bird seed, mealworms, fruits and nuts. I have been giving him the all bird formula less and less. Only 2 times a week now. He prefers the wild bird seeds, the black oil and cracked corn ones.

1.) Can he just eat the seeds for wild birds and some fruits. I dont know quite sure if he still needs to eat the formula or not?

2.) When she is able to fly do I get him use to the outside?

Thanks for your answer, can you explain your answer? Thanks

Bethani

Answer 1

just fatten 'em up and good eats

Answer 2

You can take a feather/dropping sample from Moon and send it in to a lab and they can DNA s*x the bird; your veterinarian should be able to tell you who to send it to. Or you can just wait; the first sign of roosterhood is that the young bird starts crowing, or trying to; it sounds more like gargling or choking when they first start. I wouldn't let Moon mate with his own mother, that's unhealthy, although you shouldn't see any deformities in the first generation, it takes longer than that for inbreeding to have noticeable effects.

As for the blue jay, you need to let her go. It already sounds like she's comfortable outside, and there are "friends" (possibly relatives) she can join who will show her the ropes. You can't just feed a jay seeds and fruits, they need protein too, and I'm sure you already know how expensive it is to feed a bird mealworms. It's also illegal to keep a wild species as a pet, you could be fined thousands of dollars or spend time in prison for having her. Once she is able to fly, you need to let her go outside.

Just spend a lot of time outside with her out of her cage, and eventually you can stop bringing her inside; you can either leave her in a safe place in a tree or in the cage, but if she's in a cage you need to keep her in a screened in porch or somewhere; a nocturnal predator like a raccoon or a cat can and will stick its paw in through the bars and kill her, given the chance. Eventually you can stop using the cage altogether, and she can just be an outside bird. She may hang around your house, she may not; since she has friends, she will probably follow them around the neighborhood as they forage. Ultimately, she'll be happier outside with her own kind.