LITL BANTAMS

Believe it or not, this dude is actually a confirmed cockerel.

He's got saddle feathers. This is what I'm talking about when I saw I've accidentally selected for more limited sexual dimorphism. This one?

She's a pullet. Not much difference between them. My pullets can have more substantial wattling than the cockerels. I suspect this is a result of lower testosterone, & it is related to the temperaments I keep back.

If a cockerel shows any inclination of attempting to mount pullets or hens when the ladies didn't first present to them, I cull them. Human aggression, chick aggression, & over the top aggression towards unfamiliar birds? Cull. Sparring & normal courtship behaviors are fine. I also cull pullets that present to me (or cockerels that try to mount me). A hen that presents for humans is more likely to produce sons that are either human aggressive or attempt to court humans, both behaviors are unacceptable in my project.

This all might end up biting me in the ass in the long run....don't know how yet, though. The fertility in my flock is improving significantly with each generation, but right now I predict if I push too hard for mild temperaments there is a chance it could negatively impact fertility. I mean, nature produced sassy cocks for a reason, right?

I like putting palms in with my chickens even though they eventually shred them. Tropical vibes

bonus zoom