Do Pullets grow feathers faster than roos?

[QuackerOats]

I heard somewhere that pullets will grow their feathers in faster than the roos do. Is this true?

I was wondering because I have two RIR chicks and they are 17 days old. One of them has a lot more feathers than the other. The one that does have more feathers, I am hoping is a pullet. She seems very fond of me and loves being held!

Thanks!

 

[Domestic_goddess]

That's what i've heard!

 

[Silkiefan]

I got two Cochin chicks - same day, same age... one feathered out a full week and a half before the other. The one that feathered sooner turned out to be a pullet... the one that lagged behind eventually feathered but also grew a nice red comb!
My vote: yes, ladies feather sooner than the gents.
still, I am no expert on "feathery" chickens. I love Silkies. I ended up giving the Cochins away because they weren't quite what I'm used to personality wise...

 

[ZooMummzy]

My vote is "sometimes"! I have had pullets not feather out at all till very late and cockerels of the same age, feather out very quickly...and vice versa. I think the rule of thumb is yes, girls feather quicker, but don't rely on it!

 

[QuackerOats]

Two "yes"
One "Sometimes"
Zero "no"

WAHOOO!

This is good to hear.

Thanks for all of your feedback!

 

[nzpouter]

it's a sex linked gene.... rooster can have a double dose of this hence the slower feathering compared to hens... you'll see it more on barred birds like plymouth rocks.

 

[Theo]

I have 10 Buff Orpington chicks. 6 are golden (buff). 4 are various charcoal colors and are quite handsome. The 6 golden chicks at one week of age have wing feathers and are developing their tail feathers. The charcoal chicks lagged behind in developing feathers. They have wing feathers now, but no tail feathers.

If there is anything behind feather development as an indicator of gender, the charcoal chicks are cockerels and the buff chicks are pullets. That would be good on one hand, because I would get 6 pullets out of 10 chicks, but bad on the other hand, because I would like to have some dark colored pullets.

In the last batch of chicks I raised (4 buff orpingtons), it was obvious at 4 weeks of age that one was a rooster, due to the difference in the color and size of the comb. The cockerel had a pronounced coral colored comb, the pullets had smaller yellowish combs.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.