6 week old salmon faverolles, trouble figuring out which one is the cockerel

[Lynnshollow]

Hi! I got these from a hatchery and they are supposed to be 5 pullets and 1 cockerel. At first I thought the lightest colored one (#4) was the cockerel and his feathers were coming in slower, as I read that happens with this breed sometimes and he was also the smallest one. The other 5 also treat this one differently, as he/she is by far the most timid and the other chicks tend to lie on top or shield them from me... which is not the sort of temperament I would expect from a cockerel? They're the only chick that really looks different though, but as more feathers are coming in I'm starting to think these are all pullets. All the chicks have cream colored chests or light freckles and the only black feathers are on all of them at the very edges of the wings which seems common in pullets. The grey feathers on their backs seem to get buried under the brown ones as they come in too.

I have a relative that ended up with an extra 6 week old black copper maran cockerel, so if I really don't have any cockerels I would like to adopt theirs. I just don't want to make a mistake and end up with 2 cockerels! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[CatLoverLu]

They all look like pullets but I am not positive. @TheOddOneOut

 

[Lynnshollow]

They all look like pullets but I am not positive. @TheOddOneOut

I appreciate getting your opinion on them. It's helpful since it can be so hard to tell even in breeds like these which are suppose to be easy. I feel like I have stared at them too long and need other sets of eyes to take a look at this point... Thank you!

 

[ThinMintTheChicken]

Hi! I got these from a hatchery and they are supposed to be 5 pullets and 1 cockerel. At first I thought the lightest colored one (#4) was the cockerel and his feathers were coming in slower, as I read that happens with this breed sometimes and he was also the smallest one. The other 5 also treat this one differently, as he/she is by far the most timid and the other chicks tend to lie on top or shield them from me... which is not the sort of temperament I would expect from a cockerel? They're the only chick that really looks different though, but as more feathers are coming in I'm starting to think these are all pullets. All the chicks have cream colored chests or light freckles and the only black feathers are on all of them at the very edges of the wings which seems common in pullets. The grey feathers on their backs seem to get buried under the brown ones as they come in too.

I have a relative that ended up with an extra 6 week old black copper maran cockerel, so if I really don't have any cockerels I would like to adopt theirs. I just don't want to make a mistake and end up with 2 cockerels! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

View attachment 3072616
View attachment 3072620

All pullets, 100%

 

[Lynnshollow]

All pullets, 100%

That's good to hear! I'd like to give my relative's extra cockerel a home, so that would work out well.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

All females. Lucky you!

 

[Lynnshollow]

All females. Lucky you!

Thanks! I really appreciate hearing from people who have more experience with this breed than I do!

 

[ColtHandorf]

Yeah, all girls.

 

[Lynnshollow]

Yeah, all girls.

Thank you for giving your opinion on this. Since everyone seems certain these are all pullets, I went ahead and made arrangements to go pick up my relative's extra cockerel today.