Golden laced polish- pullet?roo?

[odchooks]

Some updated photos of the polish we didn’t give away. Any thoughts?

 

[Chicalina]

I still think cockerel

 

[odchooks]

I still think cockerel

Oh no- I thought you would say pullet now

 

[Chicalina]

this is the sort of neat round helmet that depicts a girl.

 

[NatJ]

Some updated photos of the polish we didn’t give away. Any thoughts? View attachment 3616223View attachment 3616225View attachment 3616226View attachment 3616227View attachment 3616228View attachment 3616229

The feathers on the back certainly do seem to have rounded ends. That could mean a female, or it could mean a male who hasn't matured enough to grow his pointy saddle feathers. The age is about 3 1/2 months, right? That getting is a little late for a male to still be showing rounded feathers, but I don't think it's completely impossible.

I've never been any good at sexing Polish by crest shape, so based on the back feathers and the pale comb, I'm going to guess "maybe female" and keep watching as she (or he) continues to develop over time.

 

[odchooks]

View attachment 3616270

this is the sort of neat round helmet that depicts a girl.

Did she look that neat as a pullet too?

 

[Chicalina]

Did she look that neat as a pullet too?

Yes she did. The cockerels in her hatch had very upright pointy shaped crests from the start.

I've got another batch of baby polish at the moment, from a different breeder, and they all have nice round pouffes, but I'm not convinced they are all female as some are getting red wattles. So it really does depend on the particular strain you are breeding. But compared to my possible males at 5 weeks old, your chicken is still more crazy haired. I also see some pointy shiny neck feathers coming in on yours.

Here are some pics of my current batch, sexes unknown but likely include some boys, for comparison. All rounded crests. I'm thinking the ones with longer rear crest feathers will be boys.
(there are other breeds in the photos, but I'm sure you can identify which are the polish!)

 

[Chicalina]

I would add, that Polish males are significantly larger in body size and in upright stance than females, and their legs and neck are much thicker. Females have quite dainty legs and feet. Think ballerina compared to road labourer in steel toed boots!

I have bred quite a few polish over the years, and in my experience, the curved saddle feathers are the last to come in, after the hackles and sickles.

 

[NatJ]

For some photos of crests on male vs. female Polish, I just looked at Ideal Poultry. They show one photo of each gender adult.

The white crested blue hen has a nice smooth, round crest:
https://www.idealpoultry.com/product/1434/61#

But the Gold Laced and especially the Silver Laced hen have a crest that is not so smooth:
https://www.idealpoultry.com/product/1425/61#
https://www.idealpoultry.com/product/1495/61#
For the Silver Laced on in Ideal's photo, some of the crest feathers seem to be standing up, not laying back. That causes it to look rather spiky.

I can see that some of the males in photos have crests that definitely look different than some of the females, but the one belonging to @odchooks does not look obviously male or female to me I keep seeing it as in between the two kinds of obvious gender-specific crest shapes.

 

[odchooks]

Thanks all. I’ll keep updating . I really appreciate everyone’s thoughts. Never had pullets before and this breed seems a tricky one to start..