10.5 Week old Black Orpington - Male or Female?

[OakR]

Hello

I have a 10.5 week old Black Orpington Large Fowl (well definitely an Orpington, I've assumed black). Fertile egg bought from a reputable breeder here in the UK. 3 hatched, all different colours, all look like Orpingtons.

This one is a bit bigger than the other 2 that hatched and has pink Comb and Wattles which the others do not. I realise these are good signs for it being a cockerel, however the 2 people at the allotment where I keep them, one of whom has chickens now and had had for a long time growing up also, and one who had them a lot growing up both think it is a pullet based on body shape and the way he \ she walks etc.

It's my first time so I am clueless bar what I have read - and I have read a lot of threads and it seems Orpingtons can be tricky. Is the logical thought Cockerel but just wait and see or do you feel fairly certain one way or another?

Thank you

Al

You can see the Legbar cockerel of the same age behind with a much more developed combe and wattles

You can see the sister in the bottom right and difference head wise.

It's my first post with photos so hope they have uploaded ok.

Thanks

Al

 

[SchwartzLakeFarmNC]

Pullet-I don't see anything at this time to say otherwise
Big girl for her age

 

[OakR]

Thank you very much for commenting - I hope you are correct!

I will post photos in another few weeks to this thread etc until I know for sure, to see how things have changed which will hopefully help others - I'll add a couple of photos from when she (hopefully) was younger also.

 

[JedJackson]

At 10.5 weeks, that is a cockerel, in my opinion. Pullets should not have much comb or wattle growth, and not that deep red color.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Looks like a beautiful pullet!

 

[NatJ]

I have a 10.5 week old Black Orpington Large Fowl (well definitely an Orpington, I've assumed black). Fertile egg bought from a reputable breeder here in the UK. 3 hatched, all different colours, all look like Orpingtons.

You can see the Legbar cockerel of the same age behind with a much more developed combe and wattles....You can see the sister in the bottom right and difference head wise.

I think your Black Orpington is probably a cockerel, but I would wait a bit longer to be sure.

The comb & wattle development is obviously in between the Legbar cockerel and the Orpington pullet, so the black one must be either a slow-developing cockerel or a fast-developing pullet. I think a slow cockerel is more likely, but I can't be positive at this time.

 

[OakR]

Thank you everyone for commenting, I appreciate it. I will come back and post a photo in a few weeks and again until we know for sure, which will hopefully be useful to other people as well to look at in the future.

It's an unusual one for sure - let's see!

 

[Tookie]

I'm thinking cockerel.

 

[OakR]

Hello. I'd say I'd keep posting until I was sure, so here we go. 13 weeks now. No signs of crowing or any cockerel type behaviour unlike the 'other' cockerel born at the same time (Crested Cream Legabr though) who is crowing, mounting hens etc. No fighting with other cockerel either.

Crown and wattles still bigger than other hens, but much smaller than cockerel of same age. Other hens have more yellow comb, this is more pink and less red than other cockerel. Definitely a good size bigger than the 2 other Orpington pullets. Not sure about the neck feathers, and possibly some different colour coming through - hard to tell right now.

13 weeks. Combs and wattles not massive, bigger than hens, smaller than cockerel of same age.

Cockerel born on same day with much larger (and redder) wattles and comb.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

He is definitely a cockerel. Those pointed feathers draping down just above his wing are a masculine trait, and I see some masculine feathering coming in in his hackles as well.

Orpingtons generally are a very slow to mature breed, so they don't get much comb or wattle growth early on. Legbars, on the other hand, are a fast to mature breed, with pullets often getting larger combs pretty young as well. Your Legbar will naturally look much more masculine much sooner than your Orpington because of this, so comparing the two isn't the most effective in determining the sex of the Orpington.