Not Sure If You've Got A Pullet Or Cockerel? Click Here! Thread 5

[AKane87]

8 week old lavender orpington

sorry for the awful pics!! rooster?

 

[louisej12]

so we got these silkies at tractor supply in march---we have 2 that look like the bottom one and one that looks like the top one.... Any ideas on who's a roo and who's a hen? I am totally stumped.....body size is about the same....

 

[Valleychickca]

This is Pepper our 7 week BB Red Old English Bantam Game.
It has started making loud noises in the morning and evenings.

 

[FFFAviaries]

This is Pepper our 7 week BB Red Old English Bantam Game.
It has started making loud noises in the morning and evenings.

Yep, Pepper is a young cockerel. The coloring of the BB Red is entirely different on the females. Hopefully you are in a place where you can keep Pepper!

 

[FFFAviaries]

so we got these silkies at tractor supply in march---we have 2 that look like the bottom one and one that looks like the top one.... Any ideas on who's a roo and who's a hen? I am totally stumped.....body size is about the same....

Not pure silkies (you'll note the top bird has the proper comb, the bottom bird has a single comb which is not silkie) but ok for feed store birds. The bird on the bottom is a male, I would guess. Look specifically around the neck feathers--you will see longer, pointed feathers (I will put an example picture below) in your males at this age. The male silkies from the feed store also tend to have more longer feathers coming out of their crests. Lots of the "silkie runs" also have birds with single combs, and those tend to be the males (although this is not a certain hatchery sexing method).

Most bantam assortments from big hatcheries are straight run--and in most cases, there are more males to females in those ratios (depends on the batch, of course, and sometimes the breed). While I'm not entirely sure about your birds (they are young) you may want to post a few more photos of their entire body for people to look at. Based on these photos, I think the top bird may be the pullet, and the bottom likely a cockerel.

Feather sexing:


Females, left, have the rounded neck feathers
Males, right, have the more pointed (most even more pointed than this photo)

 

[lil lulu]

Here is my BPR in question. She/he is around 14 weeks old and just recently started getting a much more vibrant red and larger comb than everyone else. She/he also fluffs up at the other bird I suspect may be a roo and is the group fearless leader and has been for a long time now.

 

[FFFAviaries]

Here is my BPR in question. She/he is around 14 weeks old and just recently started getting a much more vibrant red and larger comb than everyone else. She/he also fluffs up at the other bird I suspect may be a roo and is the group fearless leader and has been for a long time now.

Based on the black in the legs, should still be a pullet. At 14 weeks if this was a cockerel I would likely see more saddle and hackle feathering, and the males are also a bit lighter in color. She also does not have the thinner, tighter barring pattern that you typically see in a male. I think you may just have a pushy pullet.

 

[Valleychickca]

Thank you for your reply! We won't be able to keep Pepper, unfortunately, so we should start looking for a permanent home for him while he is still so young!

 

[lil lulu]

Ok great.

 

[louisej12]

thank you so much!!!!!