Black rooster questions

[Mbean15]

Rooster is about 10 weeks now, almost feathered out except for his poor little behind. He looks silly because he still has baby fluff on his bottom and not actual feathers.

Bought from a farmer who, when i asked what kind of chicken it was, responded with " i dunno but she is a sweet pullet and she'll be a good laying hen for you one day"

So I'm wondering if anyone can offer insight into WHAT he may be, if he's ever going to grow feathers and at what age i should expect to see them.

He's colored like an oil slick.

 

[Rainekitty]

Are you sure he's a rooster? He's crowing?

 

[Mbean15]

No, he isn't crowing. I was told he was a he due to his very thick legs, and the fact that everyone else feathered out and he was sill weirdly bald. I was worried something was wrong with him because he wasn't feathering at like seven weeks. Also, it's not as obvious in these pictures, but the area around his eyes is turning bright red.

 

[Matt A NC]

At 10 weeks old, SHE looks like an Australorp.

 

[junebuggena]

That's a pullet, and a looks to be an Australorp. Thick legs does not always indicate cockerel. And neither does the rate a chick feathers in at.

 

[Mbean15]

Well now everything i thought i knew about my chickens is wrong! I was told because he/she wasn't feathering out, that indicated it was a roo.
So i guess is it normal not to have a tail at all at her age?

 

[donrae]

I agree it's a pullet, but as to breed my thought is barnyard mix. If the breeder didn't know what she was, she's probably not pure bred. Just cause she's black doesn't mean she's an Aussie, black is a pretty dominant color. Regardless, he was probably right in that she'll be a good layer of brown eggs.

 

[Mbean15]

Her comb is black, and has been since the day i bought her, if that helps with an ID.
And I'm glad that shes a she and not a he, because the poor farm kid i bought her from dug through like 15 chicks looking for the one that looked most like a hen.

 

[MonicainAZ]

What you were told isn't wrong per se - those things are often some indication it MIGHT be a cockerel, they just aren't 100%. At 10 weeks, a cockerel would have a lot more comb than that, and it's a more reliable indicator at that age. If her comb is black, she's not a pure Australorp for sure, maybe some silkie or svart hona or ?

 

[junebuggena]

What you were told isn't wrong per se - those things are often some indication it MIGHT be a cockerel, they just aren't 100%. At 10 weeks, a cockerel would have a lot more comb than that, and it's a more reliable indicator at that age. If her comb is black, she's not a pure Australorp for sure, maybe some silkie or svart hona or ?

The black comb is caused by 'gypsy face', malanizers associated with extended black 'pattern' genes; not because of black skin.