Hermaphrodite? Or...?

[BeyondBlessed]

We hatched out some chicks back in April, and this is one of the lavender orpingtons. We have had LO's in the past and they are my FAVORITE. But.. this one seems a little different. It's feathers are very strange... and straggly? I have picture of them up close, next to another LO hen, for reference. It's comb and waddled are almost non existent. We have one rooster LO that came from this same batch, and he is pictured in the last pic with this one, to see differences. (Of course, I thought to take all of these from the outside of the fence, instead of a few hours later when I was actually IN it ). This one chicken looks nothing like our hens, or a roo. It's tail and feathering resembles a rooster... but it has no comb/waddles and no dominance either. Everyone bites at it.. including all of our sweet hens. (Even the silkies ).

Any thoughts?

 

[Sally PB]

It's feathers are very strange... and straggly?

It looks like it has the feather shredding gene.

 

[nuthatched]

I don't see any male feathers, I'd suspect it's a pullet with a genetic feather shredding gene, lavender often have that.

 

[DLA]

I don't see any male feathers, I'd suspect it's a pullet with a genetic feather shredding gene, lavender often have that.

You learn something new every day on this forum. Thank you!
I'd never heard of the genetic feather shredding gene so I looked it up and very interesting.

 

[BeyondBlessed]

Wowee!! Thank you all so much!! I had never heard of it either, but it appears that's what it is!!! So interesting!!

 

[BeyondBlessed]

Update: This is the shredder pullet now. Is it still a pullet?!

It has never crowed (ever! And we had 5 roosters at one point... and they have all been rehomed for being mean). They were all super loud and would battle with their crows, in the morning. And this one never joined.. and has never crowed since then. (So I always assumed it was still a pullet.) This one is at the bottom of the pecking order and is super kind... and I am so confused. Lol

It is much bigger than the other LO girls. And seems to have a spot where the spur would grow. The feathers are now beautiful... and and... what is this chicken?!

 

[JedJackson]

Both females and males get spurs, so that won't help. I am not sure of the gender. There are mixed signals and it is very difficult sometimes to see male specific feathering on lavender birds, especially in a photograph. My hunch is that it's male and has a hormone imbalance, but there are a lot of possibilities. Unless there are significant changes, I think this one will remain a mystery.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Love this thread. Also learned something new. Please update if she starts laying eggs.

 

[BeyondBlessed]

Both females and males get spurs, so that won't help. I am not sure of the gender. There are mixed signals and it is very difficult sometimes to see male specific feathering on lavender birds, especially in a photograph. My hunch is that it's male and has a hormone imbalance, but there are a lot of possibilities. Unless there are significant changes, I think this one will remain a mystery.

Thank you! Have you ever known a rooster to never crow? Ever?

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thank you! Have you ever known a rooster to never crow? Ever?

How old is the bird? My Lav Orp didn’t crow at all until like 7 months old. I’ve heard of up to a year too. Some just take longer to mature.