Can sex-link coloring be wrong?!?!!?

coffeelady3 · Sep 21, 2008

Is the sex-link coloring a sure thing? I have a black sex-link whose coloring definitely says that it's a girl, but Dang, those wattles are huge! Not to mention the pointy neck feathers and the fact that she's a BIG girl. I'm confused. Any opinions? Her age is iffy. I got her from the feed store the end of May, but she's always been bigger then her barred rock sister. She may have been a week old or so when I got her. That would put her around 4 months. There's no crowing, but she tends to growl at me when I get home from work. (A pretty freaky sound, I must say!)

Here's a shot of those wattles.

And here's a body shot.

Harley's girl · Sep 21, 2008

Do you have any roosters? Sometimes a hen will rise up and be dominate since there are no boys around. Or she may just be getting ready to lay. She looks just fine to me! I have some BSL myself. They are great layers!

PotterWatch · Sep 21, 2008

Looks like a girl to me! I bet those pointy neck feathers are like the ones my EE has, they look pointy because of their coloring, but they really are blunt if you get up close and look. If she is was hatched the last of May she would still be about 17wks, a rooster would have much bigger comb and wattles at that age.

coffeelady3 · Sep 21, 2008

Nope, no roosters. We're all city girls here. No boys allowed. If she wasn't a sex-link I would have thought she was a rooster for sure!

Birch Run Farm · Sep 21, 2008

Looks like a pullet to me, she is pretty!

Chirpy · Sep 21, 2008

Definitely a pullet. I just asked if my Black sex-link was a Roo because of her large comb and wattles. I then learned that they are color coded! I'd totally forgotten that's what sex-linking is all about.

Anyway, here's a picture of my 4 month old girl....

Amazing huh?