Need a little help

[Jake the Farmer]

Hi guys! I need some help trying to figure out what I have here. I have 3 BSL that are about 4 1/2 weeks old. They all hatched out of the same group of eggs and I picked them up all at the same time from a lady in Yucaipa, not far from me. When I got them all 3 of them were completely jet black - no other colors or markings of any kind. Now they are feathering out and I suspect 1 is a roo! I can't have roo's where I live so I need some confirmation from the more experienced folks here. Let me know what you think.

Here "he" is with one of the other girls.

Like I said, when I got them they were all completely black. I know BSL males should have white on their heads when born, this one did not. However, as you can see "his" comb is nearly twice the size of the others (something that has only happened in the last day or so), and "he" clearly has white "bars" forming on his chest. BUT he also has the most redish face of all the 3 BSL... It seems with this little one that for everything that points to "him" being male, there is also something that says he could be female. The other 2 are undoubtedly females.

I think it's a male, and that makes me very sad indeed. This little one happens to be the sweetest one in the entire flock. Always first to greet me and loves to be held. Hope I don't have to end up giving him away.

-Jake

 

[ajay]

I have no clue, but try posting on the What Breed and Gender forum.

 

[ErinG]

Looks suspicious to me, but I am not an expert.

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

Wait and see if it crows. Some breeds have hens with pretty large combs, and mature pretty fast. While I'm not real familiar with BSL, it could possibly still be a hen. I don't advocate jumping to conclusions. Not yet. Just keep on enjoying your little chicks.

 

[Jake the Farmer]

You are probably right, Sunny. I guess I am just getting a little worried because this one is my favorite. I know the females aren't supposed to have the white barring, and this one happens to have the largest comb of the flock so far. However, I will try my best to hold out hope! Perhaps I will end up having a rare white barred, large comb BSL hen!

-Jake

 

[lattefrog]

I am completely new to chickens, but from my reading I understand that Roos' wing feathers don't develop as quickly as the hens. If they are growing like the others, you could still be alright. I can't see the wings very well in the pics, but one of my hens has a giant comb.

 

[Jake the Farmer]

Quote:
Yay! This makes me feel much better!

As far as I can tell all of my BSL have the same size feathers. Nobody has any noticeable difference as of yet, of course they are only going to be 5 weeks this Thursday. This particular bird is the smallest of the 3. I always thought roos would be a bit bigger than the females... but again, probably just because they are still so young. I guess my biggest worry now is the white barring he/she seems to be developing across the chest. When I checked on them this morning I did notice that the tiny bit of barring going across the back and shoulders of this particular bird was more of a brownish/redish color - not white.

I guess time will tell - I will keep my fingers crossed!

Anyone happen to know when young roos start crowing? All I am getting out of my ladies so far is peeps.