Do I have a BLRW roo????

[foxy2320]

I got my first 8 hens in June, they were all around 3 months. My Blue Laced Red Wyandottes are by far the slowest maturing, but they are now around 6-7 months, and one looks so much different than the other two. I was under the impression that by 3 months gender would be obvious, but I'm not convinced. JayJay is much bigger, different colored, differently feathered than the other two that I have. At first I thought it was just cross breeding, but now I'm thinking she might be a he. Is it possible to have a late blooming rooster? No crowing, all three have kind of still had more peeping sounds than anything until today, and JayJay seems to have a more growly voice all of a sudden. What do you think???

 

[nova022]

I don't know the gender, but you have a very pretty chicken.

 

[HEChicken]

He's all boy. The pointy hackle (neck) and sickle feathers (the ones in front of the tail that are curving towards the ground) are a give-away.

 

[foxy2320]

That's kind of what I was leaning toward. But wouldn't it be more obvious by this age? Or are they truly that slow at maturing? I figured if he was a boy he'd be crowing by now! He also has more noticeable bumps on the back of his leg, but no spike claws yet?

 

[HEChicken]

When they crow is very variable. I've had one crow as early as 9 weeks old and some that didn't crow until much older. If you have another rooster, the young guy might not crow as soon, since the other rooster is dominant. On the other hand, if you have no rooster but neighbor's do, and a cockerel hears them from a young age, he might start in a little younger to compete with them.

To me he is a very obvious rooster already. In breeds who have a single comb, it is easier to tell when they are younger, since the comb grows big and pink quite young. Since your guy doesn't have a single comb, perhaps that is why he escaped notice for so long?

 

[foxy2320]

Well I guess I'm in luck as there are no other roosters around, ours or neighbors, and I was thinking about getting one since one of my girls disappeared in broad daylight. He's survived this long without any problems, do I need to do anything different for him? He doesn't seem to have any strong protecting skills as of yet, usually his butt is up in the air as much as the girls, but he does pay more attention to the surroundings. It should be an interesting journey. Do I need to separate him, or just let him keep on cohabitating with his girls?

 

[HEChicken]

I wouldn't change a thing - having him with the girls is the best way to promote his flock protection instincts. He can eat the same food too. Hopefully soon the hormones will kick in and he will start to show an interest in mating them. At that time he should also start looking for treats for them, dancing for them, being more vigilant to protect them and.....crowing.

 

[foxy2320]

Thanks HEChicken! I'm relatively new to chicken ownership and this was clearly unexpected. Any tips on where to find information on how to breed them properly? I'm assuming if I want chicks for myself I can hatch any of them, but if I want to sell them I should only use the ones from a pair of the same breed? And since these came from the same lot, should I not breed them at all? So much more to consider now! I don't want to get rid of him, he's one of the six originals we have left! Thanks for your advice, this is my first day as an official member, and I'm starting to wonder why I didn't join before!

 

[LottieDa]

I had the very same situation. Adopted what I thought were 2 BLRW pullets and one turned out to be a Roo. Here's what I noticed. At a few months old the Roo had much thicker leg bones than the hen and was much larger. At the time I wondered if someone had crossed a cornish to get those kind of legs. After a few more weeks the Roo's tail feathers and saddle feathers became more evident although 'he' still didn't crow or do the usually roo stuff. He still acted like a hen but looked more and more like a roo. Also the roo's wattles were obviously larger. In the picture, the Roo is on the left and the hen on the right. It doesn't really show the difference in body size but I hope it helps a little.

 

[foxy2320]

Yes, the legs are what I notice the most, aside from just the general difference in look. Did your roo ever develop the spike claw on the back? I'd love to see a pic of your boy from the side or back to compare. Glad I'm not the only one, I didn't realize the blue laced are such a slow developing breed. My silver laced was the first to lay!