Can you help ID these 10 week old Ameraucanas?

[I Dream 0f Chickens *U*]

I ordered Ameraucana eggs last Spring from Chicken Scratch Poultry (they are from the William Morrow line.) We hatched them in DD's class last year (3 of the 9 hatched.) They are 10 weeks old now. I have my doubts about these two, their combs are bigger than the other chick that hatched. No one has cock-a-doodle dooed yet. What do you think?

Of course the cross-beaked one is the friendliest!

Also the cross-beaked one:

Suspect #2

Suspect#2

edited to add breeder (and this notice)

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

Suspect #1 has some big curled tail feathers...a big red comb too! Hmmm...EE are hard to tell, but if one of those two is a rooster, I would guess the roo would be #1

 

[Stacykins]

Erin~TheChickenLover :

Suspect #1 has some big curled tail feathers...a big red comb too! Hmmm...EE are hard to tell, but if one of those two is a rooster, I would guess the roo would be #1

Those are actual, purebred Ameraucanas. Chicken Scratch Poultry is a breeder who sells purebreds, not EEs. They also work with rumpless, tufted araucanas.​

 

[I Dream 0f Chickens *U*]

In all fairness, I did edit my post to add where the eggs came from after Erin referred to them as EEs; I know the EE vs. Ameraucana topic can get pretty heated.

Do you have a guess, Stacykins?

Could my cross-beaked cutie be a pullet? I've had my doubts about him/her from the beginning. I can't keep a roo so i would have to find a home for "him" where he wouldn't end up in the oven! Maybe the zoo would take a special needs cockerel for their petting zoo.

We don't really have any feeding problems, yet, but that one is ALWAYS first to the feed.

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

The crossbeak is definitly a rooster, no doubts about that one. The second bird is a pullet.

 

[Pele]

I Dream 0f Chickens *Ü* :

In all fairness, I did edit my post to add where the eggs came from after Erin referred to them as EEs; I know the EE vs. Ameraucana topic can get pretty heated.

Do you have a guess, Stacykins?

Could my cross-beaked cutie be a pullet? I've had my doubts about him/her from the beginning. I can't keep a roo so i would have to find a home for "him" where he wouldn't end up in the oven! Maybe the zoo would take a special needs cockerel for their petting zoo.

We don't really have any feeding problems, yet, but that one is ALWAYS first to the feed.

Unfortunately I have to agree that he's a he. Your idea is a very good one actually. Ameraucanas are such striking birds that I can't imagine the zoo not wanting him.

The only cautionary word I have is to tell whoever you give him to that his crossbeak disqualifies him for any breeding whatsoever; and not just for show reasons. Crossbeak is usually a genetically carried deformity that becomes fatal within just a couple of generations. But then again, I can't see a zoo caring much about starting a chicken breeding program

 

[Lothiriel]

The first most definitely is a cockerel. It always seems that the best and sweetest ones are ones you can't keep!

I'm not too sure about the second... So I'll reserve my opinion.

 

[I Dream 0f Chickens *U*]

Ok, so aside from waiting for a cock-a-doodle do or an egg coming out, when can I tell for sure what Suspect #2 is? Where do spurs grow in and when? What else can I look for?

 

[HEChicken]

I agree that the first looks like a cockerel and the second looks like a pullet.

 

[I Dream 0f Chickens *U*]

What about spurs? Should they be coming out by now? Would they be obvious?