Let's play "Count the roos" (BBS Langshans)

azurbanclucker

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How many boys do you see in this photo? They're All Langshans, hatched in the last week of August according to the folks at TSC. Sadly, I think I see four.
IMG_20171014_072840.jpg
 
There might be four, but I think that's an over estimation. I'm seeing two of each, plus two that could go either way as they age. Hatcheries will generally try to get them feather sexed via selective breeding techniques, so I suspect your short tail, shapeless bottom birds with the pinker combs are guys. The two with long stiff tail feathers are most likely pullets. You have two indeterminate chicks with some tail and comb, but not as much as your "for sure" chicks, but I'm leaning pullet for one of them. You'll have to watch how they age.
 
I agree with you; the two darkest look like pullets. Are these the ones who we puzzled over colours?

Yup! I love Langshans, but they're so hard to read, almost right up until the crow or lay an egg. :)

There might be four, but I think that's an over estimation. I'm seeing two of each, plus two that could go either way as they age. Hatcheries will generally try to get them feather sexed via selective breeding techniques, so I suspect your short tail, shapeless bottom birds with the pinker combs are guys. The two with long stiff tail feathers are most likely pullets. You have two indeterminate chicks with some tail and comb, but not as much as your "for sure" chicks, but I'm leaning pullet for one of them. You'll have to watch how they age.

Good assessment. Thanks!
 
I agree with you; the two darkest look like pullets. Are these the ones who we puzzled over colours?

Both dark ones look like girls, both "blue" ones near the waterer look like boys, but the two splash ones (far left and far right, both in the back) are trickier. Far right looks more pullet, and far left looks more roo (could still be a girl though). Anything can change in a few weeks though.
 
Here's a couple updated photos. First photo shows how we have 2 different tail types. 4 with longer, more pointy tails, and 2 with basically no tail to speak of. I'm thinking that is a characteristic of the difference between sexes, but can't find any info to support that idea yet. If that's the case, the dark and splash ones are one sex (I think female, and the mid-colored "blue" ones are another (male).
IMG_20171021_070943.jpg


In the second photo, you can see all 4 of the ones who share tail charactreristics
IMG_20171021_070953.jpg


Bonus bantam silkie. She needed to be lockd away from a cuckoo marans roo that was 4x her size and hurting her trying to mount.
 
We had a Langshan sexing mystery in here a little while ago that lasted basically until the bird was full grown, so any guesses should be taken with a grain of salt as they are slow to reach sexual maturity. You have two obvious cockerels, the ones with short fluffy tails and big red combs. I think one of the splash birds could be a cockerel too, based on redness of comb at this early stage. This is the bird in the 1st picture between the Silkie and light blue cockerel at the waterer. The rest I'm guessing are pullets but I think you're going to have a long wait before you know for sure.
 
We had a Langshan sexing mystery in here a little while ago that lasted basically until the bird was full grown,
Yes, that was my chicken. It literally took until he was over 5 mths to show any male feathering. Then he crowed, and overnight, it seemed, he had rooster hackle/saddle and tail feathers. It was agonizing.
Him at 18 weeks
25.jpg



Him, at 22 weeks
142.jpg
 
Yes, that was my chicken. It literally took until he was over 5 mths to show any male feathering. Then he crowed, and overnight, it seemed, he had rooster hackle/saddle and tail feathers. It was agonizing.
Him at 18 weeks
View attachment 1166883


Him, at 22 weeks
View attachment 1166880
I remember that! Crazy that it took that long, but he sure is a fine looking fellow now.
 

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