Brahma Buff Columbia

[sukochickens]

This is Zelda…she'll be 11 wks on Friday. Can anyone tell me if she is really a she?

I'm thinking pullet for yours, but again Brahma are so difficult. Her comb looks more 1 rowed than 3. You can see the difference in my first pick. She also looks pretty well feathered in. Not like she has room to develope saddle feathers.

 

[dries86]

Ugh! I'm having the same problem. All of mine look like roosters to me. Why do Brahma have to be so difficult to sex?! I was told that if their pea comb has 3 distinct rows it's a roo. But all of them look like they have 3 rows to me. Dries86, yours looks like it might be getting some pointed tail feathers so I'm leaning toward cockerel. Mine are only 9 weeks so I have a long wait to know for sure. This one I'm almost positive is a roo. He feathered in MUCH slower than the rest.


You can see the difference in tails in this pic. He? is in the front. Has a much smaller tail. Hers is bigger and has rounded feathers.

Imo that's a cockerel, because of the darker feathers and the comb.


Wish mine was that easy to sex. But it seems no one knows 100 % sure and he is almost 5 months old !!!

Can anyone (experienced with buff brahmas) give me confirmation so I can return him to breeder please and change for a pullet ?














Thanks

 

[junebuggena]

17 weeks. Looks ok ?

There is still hardly any comb on this bird and a complete lack of thin, pointy saddle feathers. It's a pullet.

 

[junebuggena]

That is an awful lot of comb for an 11 week old pullet. I won't say it's a boy for sure, but I would not be surprised if it is.

 

[sukochickens]

I would exchange just in case. This way you're guaranteed a hen and aren't stuck in limbo. Your Brahma definitely looks different from most others I've seen. There's a lot more black down the back and sides and the feathering on the legs looks more fuzzy. Not sure if that has something to do with it.

 

[junebuggena]

5 months old and that comb is still pretty flat and there are no obvious male saddle feathers. It's a pullet.
To give you all an idea of what a cockerel with a pea comb looks like here is my Easter Egger.

This is at 14 weeks old. The pullets still had hardly any comb at all.

 

[donrae]

Imo that's a cockerel, because of the darker feathers and the comb.


Wish mine was that easy to sex. But it seems no one knows 100 % sure and he is almost 5 months old !!!

Can anyone (experienced with buff brahmas) give me confirmation so I can return him to breeder please and change for a pullet ?














Thanks

Dries, I think your bird is a cockerel. Brahmas are tricky as they can be so slow to mature, but the bird just does not look feminine to me at all. At this age a pullet would have a softer, more rounded look. Your bird has that leggy, gawky look of a teenage boy. Looks like a triple row of pea comb, and darker shading of buff on the wings, both male signs.

 

[whoop whoop]

what a lovely chicken

 

[popsicle]

dries89, is this bird in the states or elsewhere?

In general I agree with donrae. If you look close, it does seem like there might be a darker feather coming in on the shoulder, and there might be some pointy feathers in the saddle and the tail feathers look like they are going sickle-shaped... but I really would think there would be more obvious signs at 5-months. Everytime I thought I had a young Brahma cockerel, and waited and waited for obvious signs, I ended up with a pullet.

For example, look at the images of some younger Buff Brahmas in this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/530033/buff-brahma-rooster

 

[dries86]

This bird is in Belgium (colder climate), so maybe that's why it's developing so slowly ?!

Finally could capture this darker feathers under his current feathers:





100% rooster I guess now ?!