Orpington Gender?? 11 weeks old

[mlmcmurdy]

Good grief guys, I am having the worst luck with my chickens. I posted yesterday about two barnevelder roosters (who were supposed to be hens) I got from auction, and now ANOTHER one seems like it's actually a cockerel! I'm never buying from an auction again to say the least. But Maybe, just maybe, you guys can prove me wrong (I sure hope so!!)


So this little one is supposedly 11 weeks old, still making baby noises, and was described on the box as a blue orpington cross.


The tail is always carried low like this... is that just an orp trait?


saw these peeking out from rounder feathers on the back.. saddle feathers coming in?




He/she loves sitting in laps (but also likes pecking at fingers...)


fairly well developed comb and wattles....


but still a sweetie and always carries that tail low. Very submissive to the other chickens too.


I'm at a loss guys, what do you think about this one?

 

[ChickFuentes]

It's looking like a rooster to me

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Cockerel.

 

[mlmcmurdy]

Alright.. I guess I'll put him up on craigslist as a cockerel then! I think those saddle feathers are a giveaway but I was hoping so badly they weren't lol

 

[whitt910]

I think it's a roo. My orpingtons hens were the absolute last hens of mine to get combs. I had two roos and they let us know pretty much up front that they weren't hens. Most of my oprington hens didn't actually get combs and wattles until they started laying at about 18 weeks.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Cockerel

 

[mlmcmurdy]

But is it possible that because it's a cross, the comb may come in faster than other hens? My red stars had combs early on, and they were fairly bright red, but they were hens. And just as a general question.. when a pullet's saddle feathers are starting to grow, do they start out round as soon as they appear? I don't want to mistake the new saddle feathers as a roo's if they aren't.

 

[donrae]

But is it possible that because it's a cross, the comb may come in faster than other hens? My red stars had combs early on, and they were fairly bright red, but they were hens. And just as a general question.. when a pullet's saddle feathers are starting to grow, do they start out round as soon as they appear? I don't want to mistake the new saddle feathers as a roo's if they aren't.

At this age, that much comb is male. And pullets grow in rounded feathers from the start, sorry.

Maybe the auction isn't the best place to buy new birds, esp if it sounds like you're not really able to look at them before hand. I'd go with Craigslist, fliers at the feed store, look at the byc page for your state.....those should get you more reliable sources for new birds.

 

[mlmcmurdy]

Alright, Thank you so much But yea the auction was iffy but for the longest time I could not find anything nearby so it was a last minute choice. They pulled one bird out and said hens, without looking in the box at the other (which even I knew was obviously a roo once i got them home). And once you buy, you buy. :/