buff orpington - roo or hen?

[gnowetan]

Hello all,

We've been pretty sure that she's a hen, but she's huuuge. And she's got huuuge feet. We have no experience with buffs, so we were wondering if the community could help.

They were brought home in february. No crowing yet.

 

[Basskids08]

I would say she is a pullet, what is she about 17 weeks?

 

[holm25]

pullet

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

At the risk of being hit over the head by the first two posters, can you get a better picture (or two) of the bird's back half? The first picture *almost* seems to show some rather pointy, shiny saddle feather development going on back there but it cuts off at just the right point to not quite show enough to be certain. The second picture doesn't give as nice of a detail shot of the feathering so it's hard to tell from that if what I see in the first pic is really there. The shading differences with the darker patches, the maybe saddle feather growth and what looks like at least one long sickle feather developing in/on the tail have me unable to jump on the pullet train with gusto. I know you say they came home in February - but that can be a +/- 4 weeks on the age -- when in February/how many weeks old *is* this bird?

 

[Basskids08]

At the risk of being hit over the head by the first two posters, can you get a better picture (or two) of the bird's back half?  The first picture *almost* seems to show some rather pointy, shiny saddle feather development going on back there but it cuts off at just the right point to not quite show enough to be certain.  The second picture doesn't give as nice of a detail shot of the feathering so it's hard to tell from that if what I see in the first pic is really there.   The shading differences with the darker patches, the maybe saddle feather growth and what looks like at least one long sickle feather developing in/on the tail have me unable to jump on the pullet train with gusto.  I know you say they came home in February - but that can be a +/- 4 weeks on the age -- when in February/how many weeks old *is* this bird?

Nope I won't, but I'm figuring it's around 17 weeks! I like when people explain why it can't be what I say, so that way I can learn more from it!

 

[donrae]

I'm going to be blunter than ol grey mare....that's a cockerel. It's roughly four months old....hens at this age are rounded and feminine looking, this guy is lanky and gangly, like a teenage boy. His comb and wattles aren't too impressive yet, but that's a thing that we see in Orpingtons a fair amount. The big kicker is those glossy, shiny feathers on the neck in the first shot, and the shading on the wing on the second pic (great pics for sexing, btw!). Hens are evenly colored, roosters get the flashy shading like that. Some Orpington boys are just very slow to mature, that's why it's always tricky to say they're a pullet for sure even around the 8 week range like you can with most other breeds.