Help with gender

[Jaemomma]

OK, my Buff Orpingtons are 18 weeks old now. None are laying. I am positive 3 are roosters (which we plan to eat), 4 are hens for sure, and the other 3, well, I'm not so sure.

I have 3 that are similar to this, large red combs and waddles, but tail feathers just kind of lay flat over its rear.


This one looks like a rooster to me, poofing tail feathers.

Then this one in the middle of the frame, looks like an obvious hen with her pointy tail feathers, and lighter smaller comb.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Roo
Roo
Pullet

 

[donrae]

I think the first bird and the ones that look like it are slow maturing cockerels. You can see darker shading on the wings, and the start of saddle feathers.

 

[Jaemomma]

OK. I'm still waiting a bit to be sure, I don't want to accidentally feed a hen to the family.

I would appreciate being told what you all see that tells you the difference? Is it just the comb? Tail feathers? Other things? Thanks.

 

[Jaemomma]

Pullets?

 

[Jaemomma]

Hmm, after taking a closer look, I think that's all the same chicken in my last post. Ooops!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

OK. I'm still waiting a bit to be sure, I don't want to accidentally feed a hen to the family.

I would appreciate being told what you all see that tells you the difference? Is it just the comb? Tail feathers? Other things? Thanks.

Birds in pictures one and two in the first post show pointy saddle feathers and male shading of their overall feathering (the dark patchy bits on the wings, tail, etc). The third picture shows a bird with nice, rounded saddle feathers and a more even coloration

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Pullets?

Pointy saddle feathers and the same coloration patterns again point to cockerel - whether all the same bird or different individuals. -- that is a pullet hiney in the last shot though.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

OK, my Buff Orpingtons are 18 weeks old now. None are laying. I am positive 3 are roosters (which we plan to eat), 4 are hens for sure, and the other 3, well, I'm not so sure.

I have 3 that are similar to this, large red combs and waddles, but tail feathers just kind of lay flat over its rear.

Front center - roo
center back - pullet
right side (head cut off) - roo

 

[donrae]

Your second set are male. You can see the shading on the body, darker on the wings and sometimes the neck. The hens are a more even shade fof buff over the entire body. The cockerels have a leggy look, the hens are more finished looking. Combs are a good indicator, but on this breed they're trickier than some more production based breeds because Orpingtons are a slower to mature breed, so the boys can be a little more shy about announcing themselves!

If you're concerned about accidently butchering a hen, just butcher in batches. The obvious males first, then in a month or so you should be confident who else goes.