10 week Light Brahma - pullet or roo? (Pic heavy)

[NashChic]

We have 2 Light Brahma chicks that will be 10 weeks old tomorrow. For the last couple of weeks we've been referring to one of them as "he" because "he's" noticeably more red in the face than the other one. I bought these chicks from a local hatchery when they were about 4 weeks old. They were straight run, but I tried to pick out the most fully feathered, longest wings/tails I could find. I read that Brahma pullets feathered faster, so we avoided anybody who looked to have a scraggly, puffy tail and an abundance of chick down remaining. None the less, I'm not sure how we did.

Since we're getting right around the age that saddle and hackle feathers could be developing, I decided to take a good close look at what we have growing under there. I'd appreciate any opinions on if our "dude" is a "dude" or if "dude looks like a lady."

This is what's coming in at the base of "his" tail. They don't look pointy to me. Too soon to get my hopes up that it could possibly be a girl?

This is the other Light Brahma we've been assuming is our pullet.

Base of neck

Base of tail

"Dude" on the right, both pics

 

[snowbird]

We have 2 Light Brahma chicks that will be 10 weeks old tomorrow. For the last couple of weeks we've been referring to one of them as "he" because "he's" noticeably more red in the face than the other one. I bought these chicks from a local hatchery when they were about 4 weeks old. They were straight run, but I tried to pick out the most fully feathered, longest wings/tails I could find. I read that Brahma pullets feathered faster, so we avoided anybody who looked to have a scraggly, puffy tail and an abundance of chick down remaining. None the less, I'm not sure how we did.

Since we're getting right around the age that saddle and hackle feathers could be developing, I decided to take a good close look at what we have growing under there. I'd appreciate any opinions on if our "dude" is a "dude" or if "dude looks like a lady."



This is what's coming in at the base of "his" tail. They don't look pointy to me. Too soon to get my hopes up that it could possibly be a girl?





This is the other Light Brahma we've been assuming is our pullet.


Base of neck

Base of tail




"Dude" on the right, both pics

I assume these are Hatchery Quality. They both appear to be pullets, but at this age it is sometimes hard to tell.

 

[NashChic]

Yes, hatchery quality. These are for my laying flock, so no showing or breeding going on =)

 

[NashChic]

I've gone through older posts many times looking for "clues" to sexing different breeds. Often the threads are left unresolved as to what the bird(s) turned out to be. So for the sake of anyone stumbling across this thread in the future... both of the chickens in question turned out to be lovely laying ladies. I guess I won't be so quick to discount an early red comb as a roo in the future =)

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I've gone through older posts many times looking for "clues" to sexing different breeds. Often the threads are left unresolved as to what the bird(s) turned out to be. So for the sake of anyone stumbling across this thread in the future... both of the chickens in question turned out to be lovely laying ladies. I guess I won't be so quick to discount an early red comb as a roo in the future =)

Thanks for the update. I have a couple light Brahma Bantams that I keep going back and forth over. I guess I need to be patient.

 

[Leave a LightOn]

Thanks for the update! "Old" threads become very valuable to new searchers IF there are answers included. I find good info sometimes 5-7 yrs old where often newer threads just end, leaving me scratching my head.

Good job!

 

[Mad Cassandra]

Here it is May 2020 and I'm appreciative you updated. It doesn't help me decide what I've got but it does tell me to be patient! Thanks!

 

[AlabamaPeg]

I wanted to share a couple pictures of my Brahma chicks at 4 weeks. Ginger, here in the first pic is getting all her feathers as well as her three sisters Nutmeg, Noodle and Dumplin'. But, as you can see Cinnamon (aka Ostrich), in the second picture has just now started getting feathers on tail, and shoulders. I highly suspect Ostrich is a roo, because he is such a late bloomer. We shall see as time progresses. I didn't know anything about sexing chickens before I got them, but about a week later I did the wing feather trick, and Ostrich was the only one who didn't have the double layer of feathers. The man at the store where I got them, picked them for me. I told him I was raising a egg layers, and he pulled four and looked carefully at their feathers, and I grabbed the last one because it was darker than the rest. I had no idea what he was doing.

 

[3rdtimesacharm]

I'm pretty confused about my light Brahma as well for awhile I didn't realize she was a brahma-i knew about the feathered legs & feet, but didn't think light Brahmas had so much gray and black in them. Every day it was like she had more and more color!!! Her comb started turning pink around one month old, but nothing dramatic like our barred Rock rooster, Stephen.

But, they hang out together ALL the time, and they act very similarly. It's odd. There the only two who constantly chat to you, and they RUN to you, and to everyone else all day, like they're checking in. Now that they're 10 weeks old, they appear to be standing at attention while the others forage, and just this evening I noticed that the light Brahma, Freckles was not on the roost. I've seen this a few days now, but I paid attention because no matter which roost the others are on-I have two the exact same height parallel to each other because my coop is only about 4' wide and I have 13. This way about 6-7 will fit comfortably on one, but anyhoo, Freckles wouldn't go onto the roost because she couldn't get onto the first since I put her in after the others, and Stephen was on the roost in front of her. When I reached in and placed Freckles onto the roost, soon after Stephen hopped over to the other roost. It almost looks as though they share guard duties, unless in just imagining it. Though the past few nights I've gone out to check the coop cuz we have raccoons in the area (so far so good ) and both Stephen and Feckless were standing on the roost while the ladies were hunkered down sleeping away.

Does she resemble a he at all from these pics? I can try to snap a few better ones. Does her behavior sound unusual, or am I just reading into it? She's got a lot of black and gray, like I couldn't believe she was a light Brahma. I thought maybe she was an unusual looking green Queen that Meyer Hatchery breeds.I wanted a Brahma, just confused about her coloring.

Thanks!!!

 

[happychicken2435]

they look like cockerels, brahmas are slow growers