buff orp-- roo or hen?

[goodolsurvival1]

okay so i have been around chickens before but way old enough to tell the diff. we got some backyard chickens... 6 buff orps form RKO, after what was like 45mins till someone could tell us if they were straight run or pullets to finally have the 8th person say they are all layers (i dont think pullet is a vocab word there cuz no one knew what i meant when i said it lol and my little around 80% of us are farmers in some way, one person even had chickens but didnt know what i meant with the two terms lol).

any ways 5 out of the 6 we are 100% sure that they are hens... combs are small flesh/peachish color and long bushy tails... now our sixth one we are starting to thing we are the 10% that got a roo out of a pullet run lol...

when the sun starts to go down and it gets dark to the point where you couldn't drive with just your parking lights they all start getting loud... but from day one the one we call Runt has always had a totally different loud chirp sound where the other 5 are pretty much in tune with each other when they do this... and when they are done they all sound like bluejays/robins chirping for about 10mins all in tune.

anyways Runt has always been not as long as the other ones, a little more skittish, and wont let you hold it or handle it unless it is in your lab not a fan of being grabbed like you do a chicken so not to hurt its wings etc. we are guess on the age of the cuz RKO had no idea and from reading i thought they dont start getting their feathers till they are 8wks (or did i miss read?)... Runt was the last to start getting feathers, wings to get longer, and still the tail is lucky to be an inch long where the 5 girls have prob two inch long tails already. Runt's feathers are a bit more on the redder side, the comb is a bit taller (but our bigger hen we- hubby named, mamma has a higher comb but not as pointed) kind of pointier, there arent any spurs yet, no real crowing yet other then you can tell when it is Runt that is being loud cuz of the different sound it does, and runt's tail feathers arent really growing straight out and getting bushy rather growing up with no feathering out... and with the feathers id say they are round like the hens but not as round, so i don't really know how to tell the difference when it comes to pointy unless it is a def point at the end is what is meant by that term.

the pics may not be the best of the tail or feathers but this was a wk again and this wk i have noticed a lot more breast feathers on runt and the tail grew a hair more but still in the upwards direction 100% different then the other 5... if need this wk pics of runt i can take some if that would help when its daylight in the morning (tends to give better lighting then our 1924 house does lol)

 

[goodolsurvival1]

as a side note we have had the chicks 3 wks a max of 4 wks

 

[Wyandottes7]

It is too young to be sure, but I would lean towards cockerel (though the photo of the comb is a bit dark, so I can't be certain).

 

[justplainbatty]

I'm leaning towards cockerel also. If so, his legs and knees should start to be noticeably thicker than the hens'.

 

[goodolsurvival1]

It is too young to be sure, but I would lean towards cockerel (though the photo of the comb is a bit dark, so I can't be certain).

here are more pics the first two are from last wk... still prob not the best pics the last two are from just now still not the best lighting but the color is the same as the hens just a tiny bit darker and you can only tell that if you are really close....

 

[goodolsurvival1]

I'm leaning towards cockerel also. If so, his legs and knees should start to be noticeably thicker than the hens'.

we said runt is funny for the way the body is and the feet and legs it hasn't grown into almost like they could hold a bird twice the size they are now lol... the hens on the other hand that we know for sure are hens have kind of grown into their feet and legs (still a bit more to grow into but not like they use to be).

we just think its funny when we got them and was told 1 in a million or 10% chance of a rooster in a pullet run that we would be the lucky 10% lol... so far it is leaning that way and is just funny to us ... but we also know it is probably still a waiting game and Runt may surprise us and be an egg layer.

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm leaning towards cockerel, too.

 

[goodolsurvival1]

yep Runt is def a roo lol. within a wk he has had a growth spurt... still short tail feathers but hes almost as big as our biggest hen now and his comb is roo style with coloring and legs he has finally grown into but are twice the thickness as the hens... So looks like the hubby jinxed us by saying wed prob be the 10% that gets a roo out of a pullet run lol.

fingers cross that he stays how he is noise wise, so no upset neighbors or we will have to get rid of him. he isn't overly noisy he makes the same amount since the first day we got them. he tries to sound like the hens when they all go in tune when the sun goes down, thats a big try lol cuz you can always tell him over the other 5, and then he does the cooing (robin like sound) that they all do other then that you usually dont hear from them.

Hes a bit skittish until you actual have ahold of him and hes either against your body or sitting on your lap... is this normal for a roo to me a little more jumpy with people contact then a hen? most of our hens are pretty good we have 2 that still cluck away till you have them picked up and our top hen (the one my ubby calls mama cuz shes the biggst) comes walking right to you.

with a roo if there is a separate oyster bowl will he stay out of it? as i know the roo doesn't need the extra calcium or is oysters no big deal if he would eat them?