Do i have a Roo?

[sirsam28]

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I have used the forums for a wealth of information about my new flock.

I currently have 4 astralorps. They have been fantastic, gentle, and friendly.

I fear though that i might have a roo in my hands. I bought the pullets from Royal King and was told they are 95% certain they were all pullets.

I bought them back on Oct 18th. So they are now, 6 1/2 weeks old now. As im rather new to chickens, i have 1 pullet that is different than the others. Their tail feathers is almost straight up as the other 3 are sloped downwards. Im not sure if its just because she/he is more developed or that its a Roo.

Here is a few pictures of him/her:

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm thinking cockerel, since that comb is rather large/red for a six week old pullet.

 

[sirsam28]

Im fearing that as well.

My area doesnt allow Roo's, so im going to have to figure out what im going to do.

Additionally, i will be down one hen which im not sure how to incorporate new pullets to the trio.

Here is some comparison pictures with the other ladies:

<- the one to the right in the back is the one in question

< - The one in the middle of the picture is the one in question

<- The one in the back is the one in question.

 

[Wyandottes7]

I'm also leaning towards cockerel.

 

[Oscarsgravett]

Welcome to byc !!!

I am also leaning towards cockerel however there isnt much of a difference between that one and the pullets so you may be lucky chickens can suprise you . Also at that age if its a cockerel i would expect to see small small wattle development but i cant see any but it may be the picture anyway, fingers crossed! . although i have never had australorps so they might mature slower than i thought .

 

[donrae]

Can you get a better comb shot? In the group shots there's one bird that looks to have more comb than the others, but it's not the bird you're questioning. At this age I don't go by tail feathers, it's pretty much all about the comb development. A cockerel will have an obvious, larger red comb while a pullet's comb will be flesh colored and non-existant.

 

[sirsam28]

Can you get a better comb shot? In the group shots there's one bird that looks to have more comb than the others, but it's not the bird you're questioning. At this age I don't go by tail feathers, it's pretty much all about the comb development. A cockerel will have an obvious, larger red comb while a pullet's comb will be flesh colored and non-existant.

Sure. I will take a better picture when i get home tonight and post it up.

Thanks everyone for helping with the sexing of this fowl

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Can you get a better comb shot? In the group shots there's one bird that looks to have more comb than the others, but it's not the bird you're questioning. At this age I don't go by tail feathers, it's pretty much all about the comb development. A cockerel will have an obvious, larger red comb while a pullet's comb will be flesh colored and non-existant.

X2

 

[sirsam28]

Hey everyone.

Hopefully these work out good for the comb shots. Let me know what you guys think.

Here is the comb shots i took:

 

[chicken pickin]

Individual comb pics of each bird will help. I agree that there is another bird in the group with a larger comb than the one you are questioning. You may have more than one cockerel in the group or they may just be pullets with larger combs. Out of them all the potential cockerel I see is the bird in the post #3 in pics 1 and 2 down in the front.