Hen or Roo? - Silver Laced Wyandotte Edition

[Meowsmix]

Hello everyone!

This is Whitney, she was the smallest of the four little girls I bought but the past two weeks she has suddenly shot up in growth, grew most of her feathers and her wattle is now very apparent and red versus my other girls which barely have their's. Winona is photobombing that last picture but you can really see the difference in her color versus Whitney. My girls are about 8 weeks old so I know it's the 'hard to tell' time.

Thanks!

 

[Alexandra33]

Pretty pullet!

~Alex

 

[Chicken Bff]

I would give it a couple more weeks and if the comb and wattle become bigger and more distinct than the others mabey. And also how old are they?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I'm guessing cockerel, and here's why... Those waddles aside from big are quite red for that age.

Same thing happened to me. Got 1 SLW & 1 GLW from LFS as sexed. The GLW was smallest at the store and SLW was pretty big. Before long the both popped up with red wattles which my previous 2 GLW still didn't have at 10 weeks older than them. They didn't really start showing saddle feathers until almost 12 weeks old though and their combs have barely started getting bigger. But they were always more red!

Although, the boys don't have clear lacing on their wings, it's more like mostly solid white for the SLW and darker red/gold for the GLW or mottled-ish on both. But there did come a point when the little guy suddenly shot up and is the same size as the rest of the brood but as large as the other girls that are 10 weeks older. Looking meaty!

Won't be long before you know for sure though.

 

[Chicken Bff]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I'm guessing cockerel, and here's why... Those waddles aside from big are quite red for that age.

Same thing happened to me. Got 1 SLW & 1 GLW from LFS as sexed. The GLW was smallest at the store and SLW was pretty big. Before long the both popped up with red wattles which my previous 2 GLW still didn't have at 10 weeks older than them. They didn't really start showing saddle feathers until almost 12 weeks old though and their combs have barely started getting bigger. But they were always more red!

Although, the boys don't have clear lacing on their wings, it's more like mostly solid white for the SLW and darker red/gold for the GLW or mottled-ish on both. But there did come a point when the little guy suddenly shot up and is the same size as the rest of the brood but as large as the other girls that are 10 weeks older. Looking meaty!

Won't be long before you know for sure though.

I agree 100% I know because one of my "pullets" turned out to be a roo this year and most of what i saw was what my roo did this year.

 

[Alexandra33]

I personally still feel that this is a pullet.

First of all, her lacing is very uniform, (like that of a pullet) whereas SLW cockerels I've seen feather in differently. (they're quite patchy looking) Plus, I've noticed that Dottes tend to mature differently than the other breeds I've kept so far. I had so many doubts about one of my Silver Penciled Dottes because her comb and wattles started pinking up and growing before she was fully feathered!

Today, she is one of my favorite little girls.

~Alex

 

[lomine]

I'm going to guess pullet too for the same reasons as @Alexandra33. Had a similar experience with my BLRW.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I personally still feel that this is a pullet.

First of all, her lacing is very uniform, (like that of a pullet) whereas SLW cockerels I've seen feather in differently. (they're quite patchy looking) Plus, I've noticed that Dottes tend to mature differently than the other breeds I've kept so far. I had so many doubts about one of my Silver Penciled Dottes because her comb and wattles started pinking up and growing before she was fully feathered!

Today, she is one of my favorite little girls.

~Alex

I actually agree, the lacing does look nice. And the cockerels I have are patchy as you describe (and I did to), I wasn't sure if they were gonna stay that way or the lacing was still coming in.

You are probably right about it being a pullet. It's always nice to have a roo suspect turn into a pretty little lady!

 

[Alexandra33]

I actually agree, the lacing does look nice. And the cockerels I have are patchy as you describe (and I did to), I wasn't sure if they were gonna stay that way or the lacing was still coming in.

You are probably right about it being a pullet. It's always nice to have a roo suspect turn into a pretty little lady!

Wyandottes can definitely be confusing, especially since comb/wattles are very telltale at such an early age!

Of course, there is always a chance that I'm wrong (I am not an expert

), I'm just going on my experiences thus far.

I agree, what a nice surprise for the original poster if she does indeed turn out to be a pullet!

~Alex

 

[Meowsmix]

Thank you everyone! I'm crossing my fingers it's a pullet, the four of them did come sexed with a 90% guarantee but it would be my luck to get that one boy out of the bunch.