Feathering Out

[chickengarden]

Now that I think I know which roosters I have (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/654287/our-chickens-please-weigh-in-on-genders)
I have a bit of a theory. The Buff Orpingtons (or Buff Rocks?) seemed to have feathered out differently. Delta (the pullet) almost had a full set of wing feathers by day 3 or so and Sunny grew his in a great deal slower. Also, he had no tail for a long time.

Here's Delta as a 3 day old:


And Sunny:



Now I've also noticed on the new Easter Egger chicks I have that they have very different feathering patterns.

Here's Sprite and Dr. Pepper (the dark one):



And Rootbeer:


What do you guys think? Do you think the females are the ones more rapidly feathering? I've read a little about the fact that there are genetics involved and people can breed for this on purpose but just wondered if that is what is going on here maybe unintentionally? Also, do you think this does work for "Buff Orpingtons"?

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Most hatcheries have Buff Orpington's and Delta is light so I'm going with BO. Even though Sprite and Dr.Pepper (I almost said "peeper") have different varieties, if they both have beards, they are most likely Easter Eggers.

 

[Farmettehopeful]

Can't help you but I just wanted to say AWWWW cute pics and cute names!!

 

[Aeropennchick]

This will be interesting to see play out - I have two buff orps, and one feathered out quickly while the other one lagged big time, just like yours. Seemed like the tail was never going to grow! At this point, they are about six weeks old, I guess, and both of them look the same

...But the one who feathered out slowly acts differently, and I still suspect he may turn out to be a roo! I will let you know!

 

[chickengarden]

Here's an update on my Easter Eggers and their feathering out.
Here is Sprite at 4 weeks old. I am pretty super sure he's a roo. See? Still barely a tail.

Here's Rootbeer:

And lastly, Dr. Pepper (or Dr. Peeper, as JerseyGiantfolk named her


I find it pretty interesting that 7 out of the 8 chicks I got I'm pretty sure are all pullets. Sprite was chosen by my son so I let it slide. I used the "feathering out" trick on almost all the breeds I bought that day (Buff Orps, Barred Rocks and Easter Eggers) I also bought a Silver Laced Wyandotte that day too and just avoided the chicks that were highly contrasted and "more attractive". I don't know if that helped but we'll find out

 

[hdowden]

they all look like pullets thus far repost at 6-8 weeks of age by then gender should be apparent

 

[chickengarden]

It's not just Sprite's missing tail that I'm going on to tell me he's a rooster. The photo doesn't show it very well but his comb is larger and pinker than the other two. His body is also bigger. Also, his flashy black and white feathers. And the other day, when they were all (all 8) roosting on a log he was the only one watching one of my bigger chickens as he came close.
In any event, though, you are right and time will tell. Thanks for your input

 

[chickengarden]

Thought I'd finally post the official conclusion to this thread. So, far, all of my chicks who feathered slowly were males and the ones who grew wing and tail feathers more quickly were females. Here's a few updated photos of the EE's.

This is Dr. Pepper, pullet, at 20 weeks:



Sprite, cockerel, at 20 weeks:



And Rootbeer, my favorite pullet, @ 20 weeks as well:

 

[FatherofFlowers]

We're getting some EE's this weekend, so seeing how vastly different the coloration is between when they were babies and adults (I mean, even the 4 week point is very different), I think we'll hae even more fun waiting to see what they end up looking like. I think it's just one more thing I like about the EE's: the surprise of what they'll look like

 

[chickengarden]

Me, too!
It's also a blast finding out what color eggs they lay.