The Dilema: Could Alli be an Al?

The girls are just 3 days shy of being 2 months old. They are turning into real chickens now! Our Buff Orpington, Alli, is one of the two biggest, the other being Lisa's Dark Brahma (we call her Gandolf, but don't tell Lisa!). Alli was a big chick to begin with and she did mature faster than the others. Now she seems to be developing a bright red crown and biggish wattles. A couple of times now, we have heard some interesting noises coming from the chicken tractor at various hours of the AM. We are starting to wonder...is our Alli really an Al? What are we going to do if she is a he?! We cannot have a rooster in the city! How long does it take to determine the true sex of a chicken!? I have been surfing the web trying to get good pics of male vs. female Buffs and well, it makes me think she's a he. Maybe it's just b/c the other girls are not developing their crowns or wattles as quickly. Theirs are mostly little bump like crowns and barely any wattle.

Hmmm...the dilema.

Alli or Al?

Lisa's Auracanas, and Alli or Al

Lisa's Auracanas, love the bushy cheeks...maybe we'll keep her!

Lisa's Brahma

Sicilian Buttercup

They have the whole yard to free-range and they choose to huddle in the smallest cage in the yard! That's chickens for ya! That's our Brahma, Mary, nex to Lisa's.

Huge Chicken Tractor

We did Seattle Tilth's Coop Tour a few weeks back in hopes of getting ideas for a chicken tractor. To our dismay we didn't really see many tractors. We did however get some great ideas for a coop, and we will be ordering an automatic water dispenser that hooks up to the hose. That way we can go away and not worry about getting someone to water them.

Here are some pics of the tractor. It is heavy, but hopefully it will keep the racoons out!