Late blooming cockerel??

[Matzwd]

So, this little mille fleur d'uccle was one of our first broody-hatched babies. She was a little slow and needed help keeping up with mom and the others for the first few weeks. I would periodically have to find her and put her with the group. She had been my only broody-raised baby I could readily handle. I finally determined she was just a loner and terrified of the other chickens, taking off running and hollaring when she saw one of them near.

A few weeks ago, I had another little girl from the same brood with two slipped tendons that I had to bring inside, so I brought Calluna in with her to keep her company. They are besties, but the little mille has become the dominant one of the two.

She is 18 weeks old. The other two girls from her brood are laying. The known cockerel is crowing and mating some of the girls. Well, I spent a week out of town and came back on Sunday to little Calluna looking like she's probably a boy. She has long hackle feathers, very few white feather tips, green iridescence to her sickled tail feathers, and her base color is a deeper mahogany than that of my two mille girls. Her comb, however, is still fairly small and light for her age. Is she a he? I am fairly convinced this is a late-blooming d'uccle boy. Has anyone had bantams mature so slowly?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Looks like a cockerel to me. Did I miss how old it was? The dark red coloring is usually indicative to the males in my experiences.

 

[Painted Calls]

Colored like a cockerel but developed like a pullet.

Strange.

Update us once there's a crow or an egg!

 

[Matzwd]

Colored like a cockerel but developed like a pullet.

Strange.

I know, right?! I was sure it was a pullet until just this week. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Matzwd]

Did I miss how old it was?

18 weeks. I've never had a bantam I couldn't discern the gender of very early on. I kind of wonder if she's (or he) sort of stunted in some way. She's definitely slower than the others mentally, if that's possible. I thought she might be blind at first when she would lose mama and siblings, but she isn't.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

18 weeks. I've never had a bantam I couldn't discern the gender of very early on. I kind of wonder if she's (or he) sort of stunted in some way. She's definitely slower than the others mentally, if that's possible. I thought she might be blind at first when she would lose mama and siblings, but she isn't.

That would explain the slow maturity. A slightly unwell cockerel wouldn't get red in the comb as fast, or at all.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

So, this little mille fleur d'uccle was one of our first broody-hatched babies. She was a little slow and needed help keeping up with mom and the others for the first few weeks. I would periodically have to find her and put her with the group. She had been my only broody-raised baby I could readily handle. I finally determined she was just a loner and terrified of the other chickens, taking off running and hollaring when she saw one of them near.

A few weeks ago, I had another little girl from the same brood with two slipped tendons that I had to bring inside, so I brought Calluna in with her to keep her company. They are besties, but the little mille has become the dominant one of the two.

She is 18 weeks old. The other two girls from her brood are laying. The known cockerel is crowing and mating some of the girls. Well, I spent a week out of town and came back on Sunday to little Calluna looking like she's probably a boy. She has long hackle feathers, very few white feather tips, green iridescence to her sickled tail feathers, and her base color is a deeper mahogany than that of my two mille girls. Her comb, however, is still fairly small and light for her age. Is she a he? I am fairly convinced this is a late-blooming d'uccle boy. Has anyone had bantams mature so slowly?
View attachment 2319807

What happened with this chicken?

 

[Matzwd]

What happened with this chicken?

He's a sweet little guy, definitely a cockerel. There is clearly something not quite right about him as most of the flock bullies him. For his first several months, we fed him separately to make sure he ate and everything. He stays mostly on top of the feed buckets to avoid the others now but is self-sufficient enough eat on his own (usually when the others are out of the run). He does not crow and does not attempt to mate with any of the girls. I used to have to go out and put him in his safe spot in the coop every evening, but he can do that on his own now too. He would make the best little pet for someone that wanted a house chicken!

 

[Ted_Harrell]

Probably just a little behind the others, but yeah looks like a cockerel though...

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

He's a sweet little guy, definitely a cockerel. There is clearly something not quite right about him as most of the flock bullies him. For his first several months, we fed him separately to make sure he ate and everything. He stays mostly on top of the feed buckets to avoid the others now but is self-sufficient enough eat on his own (usually when the others are out of the run). He does not crow and does not attempt to mate with any of the girls. I used to have to go out and put him in his safe spot in the coop every evening, but he can do that on his own now too. He would make the best little pet for someone that wanted a house chicken!

Do you have new pictures of him? This thread reminds me a bit of another about a different d’uccle (read until the end):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/is-my-cockerel-actually-a-pullet-in-disguise.1115939/.