14 wk SLWs - Genders please! Pic Heavy

[PetRock]

We are fairly new to chickens and have a small flock of 7 pullets (?). Our oldest and top hen is a BR who is 24 weeks old. Then the middle 3 are 21 weeks old: a Gold Sex Link who is laying, an EE who we are hoping will lay blue/green eggs, and a BA who is just beginning to show signs of POL. I should have been content with 4 confirmed pullets but we just happened to be at the feedstore when the post office delivered a new shipment of chicks from Ideal. We just couldn't resist the lure of more chicks! And our town allows us to have 10 chickens so why not?! Our BR has so much character that we choose another BR and two SLWs. We were pretty confident in our choice of the BR after researching sex characteristics for hours. But we had no idea what to look for with the SLWs. We just tried to pick ones with small combs and middle of the road coloring. I've been putting off asking and delaying the possible roo answer! They are 14 weeks old and are definitely the bottom of the pecking order. There has been no crowing from either of them and absolutely no agressive behavior. They are very timid even with us. They lived in a brooder in our family room until they were 10 weeks old and were held often each day. They are hatchery quality and supposed to be pullets. What do you think?

Chicken 1 - Beauty (or is it Beast?) This crazy bird looks like she/he has a broken tail. She/he can hold it straight and wag it but chooses to have it pointed to the right most of the time!

Chicken 2 - Sterling She/he is slightly braver than Beauty but not much. They both look to our younger BR, Memly, for leadership.

Both together:

All three babies 3 1/2 weeks ago at 10 1/2 weeks:

 

[TyrannosaurusChix]

both are female in my opinion ( i have 4+ pullets a few weeks older than yours)

 

[pinkchick]

I would say that Beaut is a Beast, and Sterling is a pullet. See the pointy saddle feathers on Beast = Roo.

 

[PetRock]

Quote:
Thank you! I've been going back and forth with these two. They pinked up early, especially Beauty. The interesting thing is that when they are relaxed like in the photo of the three of them, the pink turns lighter. When we have chased them around to grab them for a photo, the pink is much darker. Have you noticed this with yours? Is it because of increased blood flow?

 

[barred-rocks-rock]

Look like girls to me!

 

[PetRock]

Quote:
Thank you! Yes, Beauty is the main one that I've been back and forth on. She pinked up earlier than Sterling and she has those feathers. They really aren't pointed but still look suspicious. We've parted her feathers in the saddle area looking for pointed feathers coming in and see nothing. But every day I wait for a crow from her/him. We can't have a roo due to a noise ordinance in our city. It will be so hard to part with her if she is really a him.

 

[awesomefowl]

Quote:
I agree. Cause i have two!

 

[TyrannosaurusChix]

Quote:
I dont see that? i just see the lacing pattern.. it makes it look pointy.


combs are a circulation and health point. It is a bit tricky for growing chicks.. BUT-- with the slw ie personally found the presence of a comb and wattles are an almost positive indicator when you have a roo to compare it to.

 

[SB Austex]

Here are my 14 week old GLW's. Buttercup is definitely a boy and has been crowing for about a week already. There's Buttercup in his fine form and the next with Daisy, same age. I'm sad I'll have to rehome him asap.

--S

 

[pinkchick]

I don't work with SLWs so I could be way off base here. I do have 2 SLW hens and they do not look anything like the first bird photo'd. The saddle feathers look a little pointier on that bird then on the other, the other thing I looked at was the coloration difference in the 2 SLW's. The 3rd photo under the second bird in question shows a great shot of the pointier saddle feathers on the 1st bird.