Blue Jersey Giants pullet or cockrel?

FIZBIT

Songster
May 9, 2018
147
144
146
OLYMPIA, WA
I got 3 Jersey Giants. Supposed to be pullets. 1 has me question myself. They are about 6 to 7 weeks old
 

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These are the 2 I think are pullets
 

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I got 3 Jersey Giants. Supposed to be pullets. 1 has me question myself. They are about 6 to 7 weeks old


I can see why you think the one might be male. Can you post a picture from the side of this one in question?

We have BJG. They are slow to mature, so it will be awhile before you can really tell. One big difference btwn our M and F BJG had been in leg thickness. Do they vary in leg thickness? Here are our M and F BJG at 4 months of age. Notice the difference in leg thickness.

Screen Shot 2019-06-07 at 7.00.12 PM.png


FWIW, the tail on the one in question doesn't look like the correct tail for a Jersey Giant - they have "wide and spreading" tails, rather than the classic couple of long tail feathers. They also should have a flat back, and yours look to have a pretty good JG shape, including a flat back, that I can see in the pics. They look to be a good size for their age.

Here is a side view of a male BJG, around 12-15 months old. Notice flat back, and wide spreading tail. For size comparison, see the tail of the full grown SLW behind him.
Screen Shot 2019-04-17 at 11.15.55 AM.png
 
Will these do or should I go take some more
 

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I can see why you think the one might be male. Can you post a picture from the side of this one in question?

We have BJG. They are slow to mature, so it will be awhile before you can really tell. One big difference btwn our M and F BJG had been in leg thickness. Do they vary in leg thickness? Here are our M and F BJG at 4 months of age. Notice the difference in leg thickness.

View attachment 2110472

FWIW, the tail on the one in question doesn't look like the correct tail for a Jersey Giant - they have "wide and spreading" tails, rather than the classic couple of long tail feathers. They also should have a flat back, and yours look to have a pretty good JG shape, including a flat back, that I can see in the pics. They look to be a good size for their age.

Here is a side view of a male BJG, around 12-15 months old. Notice flat back, and wide spreading tail. For size comparison, see the tail of the full grown SLW behind him.
View attachment 2110473

Yes the light blue is huge. I got them at the feed store. So you never know if something else is mixed in or not.

I will have to check the leg thickness as I haven't really paid attention to that.

I added more pictures. See if those are a better angle.
 
I got 3 Jersey Giants. Supposed to be pullets. 1 has me question myself. They are about 6 to 7 weeks old
I see the one in question... could be a cockerel... true indicators aren't showing yet... like saddle and hackle feathers. but yes, I agree with your assessment of early indication and would have my eye on the same one you likely do. Will you be able to keep him if he does continue developing into a cockerel?

Leg thickness mentioned can be a good indicator sometimes. So look at all your clues, including behavior.. and be patient to see if your hunch is correct... you're honing your gender ID skills! :fl

ETA: no juvenile bird will be rocking it's full dress the same way a mature bird does... especially in such an early stage of development.. their baby bodies aren't the right shape yet.
Beautiful birds! :love
 
So the main thing to me on the one in question is how the feathers on the back, towards the tail look different than the other two chicks. Saddle feathers are not going to be apparent yet, so it’s a wait and see. Pics again at around 12 weeks!

My BJG (we’ve had 2 males at different ages) are generally slow to crow, so you’ll know if it’s male Most likely before any obvious-to-the-neighbors crowing.
 
I see the one in question... could be a cockerel... true indicators aren't showing yet... like saddle and hackle feathers. but yes, I agree with your assessment of early indication and would have my eye on the same one you likely do. Will you be able to keep him if he does continue developing into a cockerel?

Leg thickness mentioned can be a good indicator sometimes. So look at all your clues, including behavior.. and be patient to see if your hunch is correct... you're honing your gender ID skills! :fl

ETA: no juvenile bird will be rocking it's full dress the same way a mature bird does... especially in such an early stage of development.. their baby bodies aren't the right shape yet.
Beautiful birds! :love

I should be able to keep him. I currently have 25 hens 3 cochin chicks and the 3 jersey giants chicks and only 1 rooster. As long as the roosters get along and the young one doesn't show aggression towards humans (all chickens are free range) then it will be just fine. To keep him. If it is fact a roo.
 

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