Help me with my SL Wyandottes + Weekly Development

[weavingpachtie]

Hello!

I’ve been fixated on whether or not my pair of SLWs are roosters since the beginning. To that end, I have weekly photos (missing weeks 3&4), which might be interesting/helpful, even if you can’t help me with sexing my birds.

Note: They do have enormous red combs & wattles. I grant that this is a huge cockerel indicator, but I’m not convinced on this alone — both because SLWs are notoriously difficult to sex this way, but also because I’ve had hens sprout big pink rose combs early. One of the combs is much pinker & bumpier -- this becomes apparent in week 5.

On the other hand:
-they’ve feathered out pretty evenly from the beginning
-If they were a day old, as the feed store said, then they had wing feathers on day 1.
-If not, they’re closer to 9 or 10 weeks than 8w, and I’m just not seeing much male feathering — I keep pouring over other people’s photos and by this age it seems so clear to me which are cockerels, but I seem to have a blind spot for my own.

Oh, and very last thing — they’re curiously dark, no? I’ve never had Silver Laced Wyandottes, but there’s not a lot of silver, is there? Or lacing, for that matter.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Both are cockerels 100% this was one of mine younger

lacing gets better with age this is how he ended up

 

[Silviaschicks]

Both are definitely roos.

 

[LavenderDaFlerf]

Cockerels

 

[weavingpachtie]

Both are cockerels 100% this was one of mine younger View attachment 3134921 lacing gets better with age this is how he ended up View attachment 3134922

Thank you so much for the photo! Is there any chance you have a photo that shows more of his feathers when he’s younger?

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Thank you so much for the photo! Is there any chance you have a photo that shows more of his feathers when he’s younger?

I have an entire album lol

 

[Poultrybonkers]

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Ive also had one i got from mpc here is him

 

[GravityWaves]

Someone was asking about Gold Laced Wyandottes a couple weeks ago so I updated with a picture of your cockerels and kept the GLW pullet for comparison because the only difference is whether they're gold or silver.

Male SLW and GLW will often get a black "collar" around their neck before they get their full adult feathers while the females will look like they have lacing going down their neck onto the start of their back. Also, the males will get incomplete lacing with black and white patches on their wings while the females will have lacing on their wings and back.

 

[weavingpachtie]

Ive also had one i got from mpc here is him View attachment 3135011View attachment 3135012View attachment 3135013

View attachment 3135008View attachment 3135009

Thank you these are all awesome. I’m on the run at the moment and can’t go through them closely, but I think this is what I’m going to need to really convince myself, lol. The one for one comparison. Excited to check them out later. (Well — not excited, really, as it I will next have to come to terms with the likely reality that 2 roosters is 2 roosters too many, but still a relief to feel a little more sure of where we stand.)