- Apr 26, 2014
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At 4 weeks old, which do you think is a more sure sign of sexing Buff Orpingtons: Comb/wattle development or amount of feathering?
Here's my dilemma...
I got seven St. Run Buff Orpingtons from a hardware store when they were 3 days old. I tried my best attempt at "feather sexing" their wings when I got them home. 5 of them all looked exactly the same and had the shorter stubby wings. 2 of them had very noticably longer wings with longer feathers developing. I guessed I had 5 males and 2 pullets.
I marked their heads with different colors and the 2 that had the "longer wings" as 3 day old did indeed feather much faster than the other 5.
Now at 4 weeks old my 2 suspected pullets are still identical. Pretty much Fully feathered with full tails and very little comb/wattle development.
The other 5 are a little further behind in feathering, with much shorter stubby tails and still more scraggly looking with feathers still coming in. But their combs/wattles are throwing me way off. 1 of the 5 has a huge comb/wattle compared to the others. The other 4 still have very little comb/wattle, hardly any more noticable than my fully feathered "suspected" pullets.
So I have 2 suspected pullets, tiny comb, no wattle, fully feathered with long full tails.
Then I have the 5 that have the stubby short tails and are behind in feathering, but only 1 of those 5 has developed a much larger comb/wattles.
I have attatched pictures of their heads, sorry I didn't get more of the feathering in there but hope I explained it well enough.
4 weeks old tomorrow.
First my 2 suspected pullets:
Here is the 1 of the group that has a VERY noticable larger comb/wattle:
And here are the other 4 Im not sure about. They are feathered more like the one with the large comb, but still much smaller combs/wattles.
What do you guys think as far as sex?
Here's my dilemma...
I got seven St. Run Buff Orpingtons from a hardware store when they were 3 days old. I tried my best attempt at "feather sexing" their wings when I got them home. 5 of them all looked exactly the same and had the shorter stubby wings. 2 of them had very noticably longer wings with longer feathers developing. I guessed I had 5 males and 2 pullets.
I marked their heads with different colors and the 2 that had the "longer wings" as 3 day old did indeed feather much faster than the other 5.
Now at 4 weeks old my 2 suspected pullets are still identical. Pretty much Fully feathered with full tails and very little comb/wattle development.
The other 5 are a little further behind in feathering, with much shorter stubby tails and still more scraggly looking with feathers still coming in. But their combs/wattles are throwing me way off. 1 of the 5 has a huge comb/wattle compared to the others. The other 4 still have very little comb/wattle, hardly any more noticable than my fully feathered "suspected" pullets.
So I have 2 suspected pullets, tiny comb, no wattle, fully feathered with long full tails.
Then I have the 5 that have the stubby short tails and are behind in feathering, but only 1 of those 5 has developed a much larger comb/wattles.
I have attatched pictures of their heads, sorry I didn't get more of the feathering in there but hope I explained it well enough.
4 weeks old tomorrow.
First my 2 suspected pullets:
Here is the 1 of the group that has a VERY noticable larger comb/wattle:
And here are the other 4 Im not sure about. They are feathered more like the one with the large comb, but still much smaller combs/wattles.
What do you guys think as far as sex?