Lavender Orpington Sexing

[Snugglesandwigglespetcare]

So these two are about 2 weeks old. I know it is still super early, but wanted to get some feedback. I have ordered a roo just in case both of these are pullets and the roo chick is set to come the first week in April.

So here is my observation qt. Between these two, their wing development is very different. The one with more wing growth is bigger. But those feathers are straight across and not curved. Each feather though is not particularly pointy. The one that has less wing development has the baby fluff on the upper wing area and the lower are is distinctly pointy.

The one with more wing development has more lighter coloring under the wings.

Neither have combs, of course, way too young at this point. The one with less wing development looks like it is getting tail feathers, but the other is not.

I don’t want two lavender roos, so I am hoping to sex them before the first week in April so I can cancel if needed.

Any hope to sex them by 4-weeks??

Thanks!

 

[Egghead_Jr]

The primary and covert feather length is only for birds with preselected parent stock. And for very young birds.

Females usually feather faster. In a given gene pool the females wings develop faster and start tail growth before the males. Based on that I'd wager you have one female. The other could be a slower to mature female. If the slower to develop chick has larger legs then I'd say with confidence it is indeed a cockerel.

There are many clues to sex of young birds but only by comparing them to brothers and sisters can you have a degree of accuracy. The two photos above don't show the legs, they are basically the same photo showing the back of the birds. Not a lot to go on. Had it been one photo showing both birds in profile you'd have given a lot more information.

 

[5 Points Wingfeather]

So these two are about 2 weeks old. I know it is still super early, but wanted to get some feedback. I have ordered a roo just in case both of these are pullets and the roo chick is set to come the first week in April.

So here is my observation qt. Between these two, their wing development is very different. The one with more wing growth is bigger. But those feathers are straight across and not curved. Each feather though is not particularly pointy. The one that has less wing development has the baby fluff on the upper wing area and the lower are is distinctly pointy.

The one with more wing development has more lighter coloring under the wings.

Neither have combs, of course, way too young at this point. The one with less wing development looks like it is getting tail feathers, but the other is not.

I don’t want two lavender roos, so I am hoping to sex them before the first week in April so I can cancel if needed.

Any hope to sex them by 4-weeks??

Thanks!

There is no way to know at this point. The things you point out aren’t indicators one way or another. Sometimes you might know by 4 weeks old, but only if one is a rooster and a very fast developer. If one of them get a big bright comb by four weeks you’ll know it’s a cockerel but besides that you’ll have to wait 6-8 weeks.

I have had a couple lavender orpingtons. My hen is super sweet and curious. Hope you enjoy yours.

 

[ColtHandorf]

Way too young to tell and those pictures aren’t the best for attempting to sex them anyway. Post pictures when they are 6-8 weeks old following the guide stickied at the top of this section of the forum on how to take good pictures for sexing purposes.

 

[Snugglesandwigglespetcare]

So these two are about 2 weeks old. I know it is still super early, but wanted to get some feedback. I have ordered a roo just in case both of these are pullets and the roo chick is set to come the first week in April.

So here is my observation qt. Between these two, their wing development is very different. The one with more wing growth is bigger. But those feathers are straight across and not curved. Each feather though is not particularly pointy. The one that has less wing development has the baby fluff on the upper wing area and the lower are is distinctly pointy.

The one with more wing development has more lighter coloring under the wings.

Neither have combs, of course, way too young at this point. The one with less wing development looks like it is getting tail feathers, but the other is not.

I don’t want two lavender roos, so I am hoping to sex them before the first week in April so I can cancel if needed.

Any hope to sex them by 4-weeks??

Thanks!

I think I have my answer. The one has a comb that is growing in that is much more prominent and the wings of the other one are much further along. I am guessing I have one roo and one pullet.

 

[Yard Farmer]

I'll have to agree with the others.

Also, it helps to not have them in red light. It throws off the photo. Just a heads up.

 

[Snugglesandwigglespetcare]

I'll have to agree with the others.

Also, it helps to not have them in red light. It throws off the photo. Just a heads up.

Got it. Does the more prominent comb make a difference? I added a new photo.

 

[Yard Farmer]

Got it. Does the more prominent comb make a difference? I added a new photo.

Honestly, it depends. I had a young pullet that had a huge comb at a few weeks old. I thought it was for sure a cockerel, but nope! It was a fast developing pullet.
I about 2 weeks update again. Then we can see if the chick grows with the comb or if the comb keeps getting bigger.

 

[Snugglesandwigglespetcare]

Honestly, it depends. I had a young pullet that had a huge comb at a few weeks old. I thought it was for sure a cockerel, but nope! It was a fast developing pullet.
I about 2 weeks update again. Then we can see if the chick grows with the comb or if the comb keeps getting bigger.

Got it. Thank you. I thought these two were pullets and I went ahead and ordered a roo, which is set to arrive first week of April…next week I believe, so I am trying to figure out if I will end up with two Roos or if I should wait to have the new chicks come for another couple of weeks to see what I have here

 

[Yard Farmer]

Got it. Thank you. I thought these two were pullets and I went ahead and ordered a roo, which is set to arrive first week of April…next week I believe, so I am trying to figure out if I will end up with two Roos or if I should wait to have the new chicks come for another couple of weeks to see what I have here

No problem.
Maybe tomorrow during the day, if you can, take some pics and post them.
I'll give my best guess on sex.
It's just a lot harder to tell with the red light.