Another heartbreak roo? Jersey giant at 9 weeks.

[sevenbabychicks]

Oh no! I got home from work today to notice that my sweet little giant, Nigella, had sprouted a long and narrow tail feather! I worry that this is the first sign of terrible things to come; so far, out of seven pullets I ordered from MPC one is a definite boy, and I can't have roosters in my neighborhood

I know that giants mature more slowly than other breeds, but if she is a roo shouldn't her comb and wattles be more developed? Her wattles are only starting to redden and enlarge; her comb is tiny and white.
Thanks in advance for any insight!

p.s. sorry about the tail pic quality. looked fine on my camera....

 

[Lbrad7]

Sorry but she is a he....

 

[ve]

It's a girl

 

[BarkerChickens]

Looks like a pullet to me!

 

[Firearia]

Quote:
It's hard to tell, but I'm leaning towards a boy as well.

 

[sdsuz]

I feel your heartbreak. Here's my Jersey Giant Rooster at 2 months. He was a real sweetie.. but we had to find him a nice home in the countryside.

Frittata had lots more comb and some color on the face. Looks like a hen to me.

 

[Illia]

That's a pullet.

A common thing I notice people do a lot when jumping to a gender conclusion is judging by the tail angle, length, and curvation. I never do that until several months later. By then it's pretty obvious though.

 

[Mrs. Feathers]

looks like a pullet with pretty tail feathers to me

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Nigella is definitely a girl. You're right -- her comb and wattles would be much larger by 9 weeks of age if she was a cockerel.


Fritatta, Sdsuz's chick, is a good example of the combs and wattles on 8-9 week old cockerels and here's a couple more - this black australorp and Buff Orpington cockerel are both about 8 weeks old:

Ignore the long tail feather - that is not an indicator. Here's one of my Black Star pullets with a long tailfeather;

Another one of my black star pullets - same age (photo taken same day) and no weird tailfeather - I think these photos were taken about a month before they started laying:

 

[halo]

The only feathers around the tail that you have to look out for are the saddle feathers, and that bird hasnt got any male saddle feathers. They will be really pointy, not long and round like the ones you are concerned with.