18 week old lavender Ameraucana… Pullet or Cockerel?

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

I’m asking this question for my Aunt who has a lavender Ameraucana that’s supposed to be a pullet…. Those tail feathers have me pretty suspicious though as my Ameraucana and other females that I have seen have much straighter and rounder tail feathers. I’m not relying on the comb color since 18 weeks is near the point of lay. Ameraucanas can be harder to sex so I would like some more opinions on this one.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Beautiful AM ... I agree, those tail feathers are confusing me. At 18wks the saddle & hackle feathering should be out & I'd think he'd be crowing by now. I'm gonna stick with pullet but I'm just as confused ...

@JedJackson

 

[LavenderDaFlerf]

Cockerel

 

[Sammi_0411]

I'm thinking cockerel x

 

[Painted Calls]

I do believe I see pointed saddles. Do you have any pic of this bird at a younger age?

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

I do believe I see pointed saddles. Do you have any pic of this bird at a younger age?

She only has pictures of it when it was way younger (2 weeks). I thought I saw some pointed saddles coming in as well . This Ameraucana is also a bit larger than my splash Ameraucana pullet. I’m leaning cockerel on this one… just when we were thinking a 100% accuracy with Meyers.

 

[Painted Calls]

I asked for younger pics because at 18 weeks, a pullet would likely be reddening up in preparation for laying. The lavender makes it hard to see saddles when it's shredded the way it is. Therefore a younger (8ish week) pic would be easier to judge.


Do you know if this bird just started getting red or if it's been red for a while?

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

I asked for younger pics because at 18 weeks, a pullet would likely be reddening up in preparation for laying. The lavender makes it hard to see saddles when it's shredded the way it is. Therefore a younger (8ish week) pic would be easier to judge.


Do you know if this bird just started getting red or if it's been red for a while?

Yes I get that! I wish I could remember when I noticed the comb getting redder… I definitely noticed the size difference months ago when I looked at her chicks but did not pay attention to the comb… I guess we’ll have to wait and see. There’s another bantam satin silkie cockerel that was raised with them and he absolutely has male feathering and has now started crowing.

This is my pullets comb but like you said at 18 weeks it can also mean that they will start laying soon which mine is not …

 

[CaliforniaMountainChicks]

Yes I get that! I wish I could remember when I noticed the comb getting redder… I definitely noticed the size difference months ago when I looked at her chicks but did not pay attention to the comb… I guess we’ll have to wait and see. There’s another bantam satin silkie cockerel that was raised with them and he absolutely has male feathering and has now started crowing.

This is my pullets comb but like you said at 18 weeks it can also mean that they will start laying soon which mine is not …

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Just updating that we are very sure he’s a cockerel now because I’ve been texting her this morning and she moved the feathers out of the way and saw a cluster of new pointy saddles coming in!

 

[Painted Calls]

Just updating that we are very sure he’s a cockerel now because I’ve been texting her this morning and she moved the feathers out of the way and saw a cluster of new pointy saddles coming in!

Thanks for the update!