Should there be this difference? BOs

[Egghead_Jr]

Sex linked coloration at hatch is one thing but that's down, not feathers. When I hear feather sexing I assume the wing feathers as to chicks don't have any. Feather sexing is done at around 3 weeks of age.

 

[popsicle]

Sex linked coloration at hatch is one thing but that's down, not feathers. When I hear feather sexing I assume the wing feathers as to chicks don't have any. Feather sexing is done at around 3 weeks of age.

No, it's done at three days or younger.

Fast forward to about 3:15:

 

[bbhorsefly]

Here is a picture of "The Golden Girls" all together.

It's hard not to feel cheated. My exchange with the breeder is in writing and clear that I ordered pullets and she sold me "pullets." Can I be certain at this point that they aren't? My only experience is with my batch of EEs and those that started reddening at 5 weeks are still and definitely cockerels now at 11 weeks. My pullets from that group aren't as red as these babies. Could they be early maturing females? Or is it more likely the ONE that has the pale small comb could just end up being a late blooming cockerel? Should I try and contact her? I confess I may have still bought them straight run, but I'm fairly certain I paid pullet prices. I wouldn't have bought them as cockerels since I'm only interested in layers and this is really setting my time table back! I'm not even sure how a return or exchange would work, unless she so happens to have 5 week old actual pullets sitting around. I've raised these from day one so I hate to hand them back with 5 weeks worth of food/water/space invested in them for the refund of day old chick compensation. Or have to go through raising 5 more day old chicks just to get back to this point hoping that I don't end up with more cockerels the whole time. Maybe hatcheries are the way to go from here on out. I would much rather support local folks, but this is the second time in as many chicken buys that I feel misled.

 

[drumstick diva]

The best thing you can do is buy Point of Lay (POL) pullets, so you know you are getting girls. Of course if they breed and hatch chicks, you can be stuck all over again with rooster issues. I've read on a few threads that BO's are slow to mature- so girly birds can still morph into cockerels.

My friend had a BO Holly that morphed into a Howard - she was sick about it. "Holly" was her favorite and it would sit on her shoe when she swung her leg back and forth.