Chonky Boy (?) the Lavender Orpington Chick

[YellowRoseFarm]

Hello! I have 4 2-week-old Lavender Orpington chicks in the brooder. These are hatchery chicks (Hoover's, I believe) we found at a local farm store in the straight run bin. One had splayed legs, and one had a severe pasty butt. So by no means do I expect that these babies are to breeder standards. We've always wanted LOs and we saw an opportunity to rescue them from their fates. They're now all in good health and thriving. They're all such sweethearts!

Obviously, it's much too early to sex them. So, I started this thread as an anecdote for anyone who may have a similar situation. Two chicks have a lot of wing feathers and even some little tail feathers coming in. I'm hopeful that's a sign they're pullets. One has a lot of wing feathers, is smaller than the rest, but no tail feathers. We're unsure about this one. The last one is Elvis aka Chonky Boy. We suspect this one is a cockerel. He's a big chick and his body growth seems to outpace his feathers quite a bit. He's got big meaty legs. He's taller than the others, and he has very few wing feathers. All in all, The Chonk looks kinda like a dodo bird.

So, there you go. I'll post more pics later since I know LOs can sometimes be a challenge to sex and it might be helpful to see how these turn out.

Photos: Chonk is facing left and Lola is facing right. She (?) is already getting some tail feathers.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

SO CUTE They really do keep you guessing, sometimes much longer than others. But they are just so pretty, it's worth it. I love watching them out in my wooded area. The 2 in my Avatar, Cockerel and Pullet became clear at about 10 weeks. It was behavior as much as look but for looks it was his feathers before comb/wattle. ENJOY!

 

[Mrs Fryzzle]

Hello! I have 4 2-week-old Lavender Orpington chicks in the brooder. These are hatchery chicks (Hoover's, I believe) we found at a local farm store in the straight run bin. One had splayed legs, and one had a severe pasty butt. So by no means do I expect that these babies are to breeder standards. We've always wanted LOs and we saw an opportunity to rescue them from their fates. They're now all in good health and thriving. They're all such sweethearts!

Obviously, it's much too early to sex them. So, I started this thread as an anecdote for anyone who may have a similar situation. Two chicks have a lot of wing feathers and even some little tail feathers coming in. I'm hopeful that's a sign they're pullets. One has a lot of wing feathers, is smaller than the rest, but no tail feathers. We're unsure about this one. The last one is Elvis aka Chonky Boy. We suspect this one is a cockerel. He's a big chick and his body growth seems to outpace his feathers quite a bit. He's got big meaty legs. He's taller than the others, and he has very few wing feathers. All in all, The Chonk looks kinda like a dodo bird.

So, there you go. I'll post more pics later since I know LOs can sometimes be a challenge to sex and it might be helpful to see how these turn out.

Photos: Chonk is facing left and Lola is facing right. She (?) is already getting some tail feathers.

at that age I have had pretty good luck with:
"no tail-it's a male"

 

[Emspringr]

Im so glad I found this thread! I’m surprised there aren’t more like it documenting growth. (For fun of course, I realize there’s not science behind sexing this early.) I also got mine from tractor supply straight run bin. I’m guessing pullets on these two. They’re about 4 days old or so and feathering in similarly and quickly.

I wonder if you also noticed that about half the babies in the bin had blonde spots on their heads as if they were sex-linked some how!!! Just a theory but I got two without spots to test it out.

I usually work with Marans and it’s true for them too that the boys feather in much slower.

Do you have any photos of yours earlier on?

 

[YellowRoseFarm]

Im so glad I found this thread! I’m surprised there aren’t more like it documenting growth. (For fun of course, I realize there’s not science behind sexing this early.) I also got mine from tractor supply straight run bin. I’m guessing pullets on these two. They’re about 4 days old or so and feathering in similarly and quickly.

I wonder if you also noticed that about half the babies in the bin had blonde spots on their heads as if they were sex-linked some how!!! Just a theory but I got two without spots to test it out.

I usually work with Marans and it’s true for them too that the boys feather in much slower.

Do you have any photos of yours earlier on?

A couple of mine had some yellowing, but it's gone now. My understanding is that lavender chicks can have some yellow when very young, regardless of sex.

I have/had several breeds (Welbar, Sapphire Gems, Cochins, Black Giant, Easter Eggers, Silver Laced Wyandottes). In each of those breeds, the females seemed to feather out at about the same rate but faster than their male counterparts, except for the Giants, who just mature much slower. In my EEs, the cockerels' combs started pinking much earlier.

One thing I've already started to notice is the feathering is pretty messy in each of my birds to varying degrees. Chonk's wing feathers are actually coming in strangely - a messy undergrowth is the only way I can think to explain it (He's in the first 2 photos). I suspect too many Lavender/Lavender breeding generations have resulted in my birds being afflicted by the shredder gene (third photo). Doesn't bother me as long as they're otherwise healthy.

 

[Mrs Fryzzle]

I looked everywhere, no, no photos anymore.
They were these 2 big pooooofs, tho. I have to say, Lavenders are a favorite. I have 2 more now, from the pullet bin @ TS, and so far it is true.... 2girls. They are the SWEEETEST! Calm temperments and totally approachable, love being picked up, and are unafraid.
Interesting what you said about the shredder gene. My big laven hen has feathers that are not tucked and filed neatly away.... I thought that was just part of their look... maybe there is a Silkie in their somewhere? haha...?

(got two Brahmas from the same pullet bin, but, with the tail theory- I am due 1 female 1 male... let's see?!!)

your pictures are adorable!!

 

[YellowRoseFarm]

My understanding is that the only way to prevent future generations from having the shredder gene is if you breed with black and subsequently breed the lavender offspring. There's a color chart floating around the forums somewhere to explain the genetics.

My LOs are officially 3 weeks old today. Here are some (not-so-great) pictures of their combs and tail feathers.

- Chonk is still slow to feather and is only now getting some little tail feather stubs - comb doesn't have any color. Maybe dude, maybe not.
- Stella has the most feathering, the longest tail feathers - comb tall is only a tiny bit pink at the base. I'm guessing (hoping) pullet.
- Stormy's comb is the biggest, pinkest, and he's the tallest now - outpacing the Chonk. His tail is coming in, but not quickly. Behaviorally, he's also the most precocious. Totally suspect this one's a dude.
- Lola has been the smallest, but is feathering out almost as fast as Stella, comb is small with almost no coloring. Tail is coming in just behind Stella's. Maybe a pullet.

The jury's still out on all of them, but I do suspect that Stormy is a cockerel and Stella's a pullet. Chonk and Lola aren't giving anything away.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Hopefully you're not going to give yourself a migraine trying to figure out the sex at this age. I've had many LO's and I've taken many pictures at all ages thinking I could go back and reference the pics for future chick early sexing. Just like you I've put them under my looks and behavior microscope, only to be wrong. I have a 4 week old that looks just like your Chonk and it means nothing, she's supposed to be a she. I've even had "started pullets," 6 weeks old directly from a local hatchery turn out to be Roo's. No one get's it right on LO's this early. Just hang in there. You'll know when you know, most likely at 7-8 weeks. That's my advice anyhow, people can guess. I just worry that people who can't have Roo's, will declare a Roo and give it away prematurely..... BTW When I have to many Roo's, I trade breeding pairs LO's for Pullets. Lot's of people want a LO breeding pair!

 

[YellowRoseFarm]

Hopefully you're not going to give yourself a migraine trying to figure out the sex at this age. I've had many LO's and I've taken many pictures at all ages thinking I could go back and reference the pics for future chick early sexing. Just like you I've put them under my looks and behavior microscope, only to be wrong. I have a 4 week old that looks just like your Chonk and it means nothing, she's supposed to be a she. I've even had "started pullets," 6 weeks old directly from a local hatchery turn out to be Roo's. No one get's it right on LO's this early. Just hang in there. You'll know when you know, most likely at 7-8 weeks. That's my advice anyhow, people can guess. I just worry that people who can't have Roo's, will declare a Roo and give it away prematurely..... BTW When I have to many Roo's, I trade breeding pairs LO's for Pullets. Lot's of people want a LO breeding pair!

Thanks for the note on the breeding pairs! It's a great idea.

I started this just to follow the progression. I've seen a lot of posts here and on the FB groups not knowing what to think about the sex of their LO. I figured, maybe, just maybe, following these little nuggets will give someone anecdotal satisfaction as we patiently await the crowing.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

His name is so cute! Colt calls my black english orp roo chonky boy, lol