Delaware Roo or Hen??

[cheeperchick]

I'm on the fence about this one. I have a 12 week old delaware and I'm not sure it's a roo or pullet. It's very calm and likes to be held. I noticed that it squats alot so I'm thinking hen but the comb and waddle are bigger than the other two I pullets I have that are the same age. Are those just characteristics of the breed? Any advice?

 

[Carolyn]

I think you have a roo. As hens near point of lay there may be a difference in the redness or size of the comb depending on who is going to be the first to lay but yours are too young at 12 weeks for that to account for the difference. Compare the tails, look for hackle feathers in the neck area and compare the legs (roos have thicker legs). I haven't raised Delawares but if you have some you know are females and another in the same batch gets a lot of red in the comb much earlier you are probably dealing with a roo.

 

[cheeperchick]

well that's the only delaware I have. I'm comparing it to the RIR and GLW pullets that hatched on the same day. I have another production red that's 2 weeks older. He recently started crowing and has a comb and waddle larger than my delaware. I guess I'll have to wait and see...

 

[donrae]

That's a rooster. As stated, that much comb at this young age is all boy.

 

[Afterburner]

Yes, that is a rooster. The curved tail is a dead give away. I feel your pain. Two years ago I got the last Delaware from my feed store. It, too, turned out to be a rooster. Last year, I signed up on the list to get Deleware chicks at two different feed stores. Neither of the store's suppliers had good hatches.

 

[cheeperchick]

Yeah this Delaware came from meyer hatchery and was supposed to be a girl but I guess not :-\ now im gonna wind up with 2 Roos. I too got a production red from the feed store that's 2 weeks older than the Delaware that turned out to be a boy..store said they got their chicks from cackle. What are the odds they can live in harmony? I really don't wanna get rid of them :-(

 

[Kelsie2290]

In general, the couple of Delaware roos I've had got along pretty well with everybody, they were at the bottom of the rooster pecking order. The production red, if he has a lot of RIR, they can be pretty dominant, so would expect him to be in charge (I have also found them to be pretty people aggressive when they get older). Other question would be, how many hens do you have? They usually recommend around 10 hens per rooster, or your hens get over worked by them.

 

[cheeperchick]

In general, the couple of Delaware roos I've had got along pretty well with everybody, they were at the bottom of the rooster pecking order. The production red, if he has a lot of RIR, they can be pretty dominant, so would expect him to be in charge (I have also found them to be pretty people aggressive when they get older). Other question would be, how many hens do you have? They usually recommend around 10 hens per rooster, or your hens get over worked by them.

Yup looks like this one is the less dominant one too. He's the last one to roost @night after everyone else has jumped up. I have 7 pullets in all so I know what u mean about them being 'overworked'.

Also I have a buff orp that looks questionable too if this one turns out to be a roo too then ill wind up with 3! What do u think? I've posted a forum on that too and most say pullet. What do u think?

 

[Kelsie2290]

You might want to put up a post for that orp by itself to get more views. How old is it? But I am pretty sure I see saddle feathers coming in, the coloring looks patchy, and it has comb/wattle development and they tend to be late bloomers, rooster is my vote.

 

[donrae]

How old is the buff?