My Welsummer Roo... or Hen?

[donrae]

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Just like humans in puberty, birds entering sexual maturity develop at different rates. All your hens will get larger, redder combs as they reach maturity and begin laying eggs.

 

[Lothiriel]

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There is variance among individuals in a breed for when the comb/wattles develop and what their final size and shape will be. I've read that it can be related to dominance also (dominant pullet develops earlier). And as others have mentioned, the males look COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than the females in coloration. There is no doubt whatsoever that your girl is a Wanda.

Absolutely. Look here to see what we mean... http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Wels/BRKWelsummers.html

 

[mamachicken888]

Quote:
There is variance among individuals in a breed for when the comb/wattles develop and what their final size and shape will be. I've read that it can be related to dominance also (dominant pullet develops earlier). And as others have mentioned, the males look COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than the females in coloration. There is no doubt whatsoever that your girl is a Wanda.

Absolutely. Look here to see what we mean... http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Wels/BRKWelsummers.html

Yep, she sure do seem like a Wanda to me! Now, I'm gonna go find that thread where they told me she was a HE.

 

[EweSheep]

Definately a girl. Sometimes larger combs would indicate Brown Leghorn blood or is a Brown Leghorn IF she has white earlobes instead of red. That also indicate it may be of hatchery stock. but not always 100 percent.

The breast coloration is correct. Take a look at the Welsummer thread and you can see the difference.

As for the eyeliner, it is not always 100 percent correct. Some of us THOUGHT we had pullets, ended up with cockerals. Some strains are better at determining the sex than others.

 

[Lothiriel]

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Absolutely. Look here to see what we mean... http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Wels/BRKWelsummers.html

Yep, she sure do seem like a Wanda to me! Now, I'm gonna go find that thread where they told me she was a HE.

Is this it? https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=577290

 

[mamachicken888]

Yes! That's it! Now that's why I was thinking Roo... see, I may be a newbie at chicken farming, but I wasn't hallucinating!

 

[Minniechickmama]

they are all three 100%, no doubt about it PULLETS. They will be hens one day, but a hen is a female chicken who is over 1 year old. Likewise, a male is a cockerel until 1 year when he becomes a rooster. But I know many people use the terms interchangably.

If you had a boy there, he would look like this, but with more tail feathers:

But since your birds are younger, it wouldn't be as filled out. However, the color difference is quite evident within about 4-6 weeks. The girls maintain that Partridge coloring while the boys darken significantly.

 

[mamachicken888]

Yes, I'd say the coloring is definitely a dead give-a-way. Big difference between the hens and the roosters. And thanks for the hen/pullet rooster/cockerel definitions. Mine are only 2 1/2 months old but boy are they growing! And Rocky, our BR Cockerel is trying to crow! He sounds like a broken fog horn right now.

 

[Happy Chooks]

All of yours are 100% pullets.

Welsummer sexing is easy to do pretty early, by 3-4 weeks it's pretty obvious. As soon as their chest feathers come in you can tell. Girls have salmon colored chests and boys have black/red colored chests.

Cockerel at 6 weeks:

Pullet at 6 weeks:

 

[mamachicken888]

Great pictures. Thanks for the lessons, everyone!