BO, RIR, and SS Possible Roosters?

[bloom_ss]

Updated pictures on Post #4 =)



I got five chicks at the end of March/beginning of April and I am beginning to suspect a few cockerels in the mix. The Buff Orp is the first suspect...the comb and wattles started pinking up about a week ago and it is right around 5 weeks old give or take a day.







The Rhode Island Red is the second suspect and is the same age as the BO. This one's comb and wattles started pinking up about a week ago also.







Now the third suspect (Speckled Sussex) just started getting a bit of pink in the wattles in the last day or so, but it is a week younger than the RIR and BO...so, right around 4 weeks old give or take a day.







Sorry the pictures are a bit on the blurry side...I couldn't get the little buggers to sit still for anything. LOL If more pictures are needed I will try to get some better ones when my son gets home from school today so he can hold them for me. I am hoping to find out sooner rather than later because one of my neighbors is not liking my older chickens singing the egg song in the mornings so I am sure he would call the city on me if I end up with a crower. My chickens are legal, but roosters are not and he is just looking for something to complain about so I would rather get rid of any potential roosters than deal with the neighbor calling the city on me. Thanks in advance for your help!! =)

 

[hdowden]

i would wait till they are at least 2 more weeks old so about 7-8 weeks old i dont really see anything that says cockerel as of right now

 

[bloom_ss]

i would wait till they are at least 2 more weeks old so about 7-8 weeks old i dont really see anything that says cockerel as of right now

So even with all that pink showing up this early there is still hope they are girls? The Buff is the friendliest one I have and my daughter's favorite is the RIR...it would be nice if I didn't have to get rid of them. =)

 

[bloom_ss]

Ok, here is the buff at 8 weeks. The RIR and SS are looking more like girls now, but I am still keeping an eye on them to be sure. This one though still has the pink comb and it seems to keep getting more pink as time goes on. Do BO pullets usually get pink combs like this? I really can't have any roos here...our neighbor is looking for ANY excuse to make us get rid of our chickens or to just plain get us in trouble. Hens are legal, but not roos, so I can't take any chances on giving him something he can really complain about. So, does this look like a roo or am I going to just have to wait longer and see what happens?

 

[kearstin17]

I think I would wait a little longer. it could still be a girl.

 

[Illia]

Yep, could still be a girl. But if you really want to check, if the chick is fully feathered, look closely at the feathers on its back, between the wings. Are any of them small and glossy or pointy or a darker shade than the rest? Glossy especially.

 

[bloom_ss]

I've tried to look for glossy feathers, but it's just so hard to tell. It appears that some of the feathers that are just starting to come in on the back ARE in fact darker than the ones it has now, but I can't tell if they are glossy or not. I guess I'll just have to hold out for a while longer and hope it doesn't crow! lol Thanks for the help, and I'm sure I'll be asking again in a few weeks. =)

 

[Lynn0284]

Any updates on the BO?