buff orpington, roo or pullet...

[LongRanch]

I have 99% of people telling me this is a pullet but I'm just not convinced yet. No crowing though. Would also love some age guesses... I suspect this one is rather large for it's age (will reveal age after), which also leads me to think rooster...

 

[LRH97]

I'm going to guess pullet somewhere in the 4-6 month range? (Approximately?) It has very feminine looking feathers.

 

[drumstick diva]

I think pullet also

 

[LongRanch]

Thanks. Now if I reveal that it is actually only 11 weeks old.. would that change your mind, lol. That's my biggest concern to lead me to thinking rooster.... I don't think most 11 week old orp pullets are supposed to be this big. What age does this breed typically start crowing? I have been listening carefully, but notta...

 

[Clov3r]

I have 5 buff orp pullets of the same age, and they all vary in size. 2 of them are enormous--- but I don't have any reason to think they're roos. Mine are a little younger than yours, but compared to my BR pullets and a Wyandotte pullet of the same age, the larger orpingtons are giants.

I was a little suspicious of some feathers on one of them, but then they all kind of got the same feathers... so I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume I don't have 5 roos out of my group of supposed-to-be-pullets.

 

[Mosey2003]

Mine were that big, but they have some English in them. I say pullet as well.

 

[Clov3r]

Better for comparison: the two orps in this photo are a medium and smaller of the 5. The two largest are not pictured. All of the pullets in this image are around the same age, except the red star (probably roo) who refuses to grow a tail.

Logan, the red EE roo, is 2 years old. Jersey, the black/tan Jersey Giant cross roo, is a little shy of 4 months (I know, he's freakin huge).

 

[LongRanch]

Thanks, I'll try and get some comparison photos of my flock tonight and see what you think. Buttercup is definitely my biggest bird at just 11 weeks old. Of course, Buttercup is also my biggest breed. My adult orp passed away a few weeks ago (and Buttercup is certainly not as big as she was). The other adults in my flock are an ameraucana, lohmanns, and some smaller sized easter eggers. On the other hand, I have an 8 week old orp pullet (an obvious pullet this time! lol), and she's the size Buttercup was around the 5 week mark. Different colour, different lines.. ?? Could account for size difference? Shrug. Buttercup's feet are as big as my rooster's. :-/

 

[LongRanch]

Well they weren't being very cooperative lol.. I'll try to get more later.

Next to my 4.5 month old Lohmann hen


There is an 8.5 week old orpington behind, an easter egger (ameraucana X) to the right that is the same age as Buttercup, and the white and black ones are 1 year old easter eggers (araucana X silkie)

The one next to Buttercup in this photo is a maran X ameraucana pullet who is a week older than Buttercup.

 

[limited25]

Glad to read this post. I've been worrying that my Buff Orpington that was sold as a pullet is a cockerel ... but she looks like yours. So relieved!