Hello, I never had cochins before this summer and I have some questions. I have one beautiful 22 week old cochin pullet (I believe) from a reputable breeder, and then 5 little 18 week old cochins of dubious origin that I rescued from a bad auction. Two of those I've been sure are roosters and have been working on rehoming, but while I previously assumed two to be pullets, and could not tell with the other, I'm still a little unsure about the pullets because their wattles, while significantly different than the roosters, still are quite a bit bigger than my breeder stock pullet? Could this be a breeding issue?
These are my two little cockerels:
These are the two little ones I hope are pullets? Their combs and wattles are significantly smaller, and they themselves are much smaller in size than the two above:
Then there is little Plum, who has always been between the two groups in general size and also in comb and wattle size. He also has bronze-y looking feathering on his shoulders and back, but the two I am positive are roosters do not have that so I don't know if that means anything?
In comparison, here is my blue cochin, Ruby, that I have from a breeder. Much smaller combs and wattles than any of them, and they turned pink-red much later than the smaller ones.
So, my questions are- Is Plum a cockerel? Are the two I have thus far assumed to be pullets also actually little cockerels, or could their larger combs and wattles be explained by less stringent breeding? (And, am I definitely correct in assuming my Ruby is indeed a pullet? I am not so worried about her in this regards, but I would like to be reassured as she is my favorite chicken by far.)
These are my two little cockerels:
These are the two little ones I hope are pullets? Their combs and wattles are significantly smaller, and they themselves are much smaller in size than the two above:
Then there is little Plum, who has always been between the two groups in general size and also in comb and wattle size. He also has bronze-y looking feathering on his shoulders and back, but the two I am positive are roosters do not have that so I don't know if that means anything?
In comparison, here is my blue cochin, Ruby, that I have from a breeder. Much smaller combs and wattles than any of them, and they turned pink-red much later than the smaller ones.
So, my questions are- Is Plum a cockerel? Are the two I have thus far assumed to be pullets also actually little cockerels, or could their larger combs and wattles be explained by less stringent breeding? (And, am I definitely correct in assuming my Ruby is indeed a pullet? I am not so worried about her in this regards, but I would like to be reassured as she is my favorite chicken by far.)
