So, I have good head shots of Shehnai versus the other pullets' in two group resting-sun-bathing photos at seven weeks. No good leg shots, singly or otherwise where I'm sure who it is, and none that show comparative height or leg thickness well. The quandary of time passing: you never know what you'll want to go back to check. I didn't leg-band them, or do full body and close-up documentary shots of each chick as they grew. I wanted to just enjoy the moments and differentiate them naturally with time. They are sooo hard to photo anyway, once they start zooming around!Pullet! But not by no wattles. Wattles aren’t the thing so much with Buckeyes, even a fully grown roo has small ones. The wattles and comb is always bigger than females though.
A very grand Sir Roo
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Going by my experience with Shehnai, I'm going by leg length & thickness, & mainly comb size for the given age. Even as a chick Shehnai had bigger and longer legs proportionately. He was always bodily bigger than the other chicks, which could be just the genetics he got, but, mainly, he had more comb than the others, and always seemed generally more developed than he should be for his supposed age. After a few weeks his sturdier legs and comb vastly outpaced his sisters. I kept feeling he was two-three weeks older than the others, or else he was a roo, which I was afraid he probably was (now I'm excited about it, and hoping it will work out). The obvious clue against the "older" thought was his molting & feathering: it was always right in line with everyone else, how could he be so much older?
I'll locate pictures if I have them.
@RoyalChick @rural mouse
These are dated Sunday July 21 2025.Their hatchday was supposedly Sunday June 2, so they are seven weeks old here.
Shehnai on far right. See the pea comb nubbly top is bigger and already red, but he's not ahead or behind in feathering. Lizabel in the foreground. She always had a darker feather color once past the poofy stage.
Notice the pullet behind Lizabel, second photo. The angle makes her "comb" look bigger than the others', but that's only the nares part that appears bigger.