Confused 7 month old

[KittyKat3756]

Hi all, I hatched two from my Light Sussex cockerel crossed with a gold Legbar 7 months ago. By week 5, I had one pegged to be a boy as he was growing a comb and the other a girl.

The slight hickup is that they are both now 7 months old and while the "boy" has pretty big wattles and comb, that's the only boyish thing about him. He's same size as the "girl", doesn't fight the way boys do and I genuinely cannot decide if "he" has saddle feathers.

What do you think?

Here "he" is, with his father in the background:

 

[JedJackson]

Hi all, I hatched two from my Light Sussex cockerel crossed with a gold Legbar 7 months ago. By week 5, I had one pegged to be a boy as he was growing a comb and the other a girl.

The slight hickup is that they are both now 7 months old and while the "boy" has pretty big wattles and comb, that's the only boyish thing about him. He's same size as the "girl", doesn't fight the way boys do and I genuinely cannot decide if "he" has saddle feathers.

What do you think?

Here "he" is, with his father in the background:View attachment 1542544

The bird in the foreground is a pullet. There is no male specific feathering at all on her, and though the comb and wattles are large, they look much like a female Leghorn's who is laying or getting ready to lay.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

completely agree with @JedJackson on this. That's a pullet. By week 12 the bird started growing in her female specific feathering, and if he was male, he would have been more flowy like his father. Here's a side by side.

 

[Flockandfowl46]

If I read your post correctly yes that is a roo in the back and a hen in front and yes those are saddle feathers on the one in the back

 

[JedJackson]

If I read your post correctly yes that is a roo in the back and a hen in front and yes those are saddle feathers on the one in the back

Yes, the one on the left side of the picture is a male. I was thinking that was the father, but if not, then it is a male, and the bird in the foreground is a female.

 

[KittyKat3756]

Yes, the one on the left side of the picture is a male. I was thinking that was the father, but if not, then it is a male, and the bird in the foreground is a female.

The left one (in the background) is the father indeed.

 

[KittyKat3756]

The bird in the foreground is a pullet. There is no male specific feathering at all on her, and though the comb and wattles are large, they look much like a female Leghorn's who is laying or getting ready to lay.

Do you know what the genetic factors are around wattle sizes? Both parents are "normal" wattled birds, whereas hers are bigger than most of the cockerels her age.

 

[JedJackson]

Do you know what the genetic factors are around wattle sizes? Both parents are "normal" wattled birds, whereas hers are bigger than most of the cockerels her age.

Her wattles aren't abnormally large, in my opinion. Her father has really big wattles, so hers probably came from him. Also, Legbars are part Leghorn, so her big wattles could have come from there, along with the large, floppy comb. I couldn't say why she has bigger wattles that cockerels her age, but genetics are complicated. Qualities that don't show in the parents can show up in the offspring, and may come from a grandparent or even further back in the bloodlines.

 

[drumstick diva]

agree with Jed Jackson