Orpingtons - hens or roosters?

[cfrabutt]

I've raised these blue and lavender Orpingtons for nearly a year now and I'm starting to wonder if they are both truly hens? Can some of you more experienced flockers help me out? Thanks in advance!!!

 

[chickendreams24]

More correctly they're both pullets until they're a year old.

The both look very much ladies to me.

I'm curious what has you second guessing their genders?

 

[ashlandco]

Very pretty! They look like pullets to me

 

[Hybridchucks]

Both beautiful ladies

 

[chickendreams24]

Here is a photo of a lavender English Orpington cockeral at almost a year old to show some differences. This is one of our birds, he was also a very late bloomer.

See the longer arching tail feathers those are called sickle feathers and are male specific. If you look closely, though it's harder to see in lavender boys sometimes, you can see just in front of his tail are his saddle feathers. These are pointy shiny feathers that sweep sideways across their backs.

Their hackle feathers are up around the neck but may extend all the way down to their shoulders. In solid color birds like this lavender they will be the same color as the saddle feathers and also be shiny.

In the below photo of my silver duckwing old English game bantam rooster you can clearly see his white pointy saddle feathers.

 

[2 many chickens]

Here is a photo of a lavender English Orpington cockeral at almost a year old to show some differences. This is one of our birds, he was also a very late bloomer.

See the longer arching tail feathers those are called sickle feathers and are male specific. If you look closely, though it's harder to see in lavender boys sometimes, you can see just in front of his tail are his saddle feathers. These are pointy shiny feathers that sweep sideways across their backs.

Their hackle feathers are up around the neck but may extend all the way down to their shoulders. In solid color birds like this lavender they will be the same color as the saddle feathers and also be shiny.

View attachment 1318834

In the below photo of my silver duckwing old English game bantam rooster you can clearly see his white pointy saddle feathers.

View attachment 1318838

Gorgeous boys!!!

OP YES both areally pulleys aka hen

 

[chickendreams24]

Thank you. Yeah I love our boys these are just two. Unfortunately we did lose little Draco the sdw oegb this winter to old age.

 

[cfrabutt]

Chickendreams24, oops! Pullets! I recently saw pictures of other Orpington pullets and thought my girls' wattles looked larger than the others. Thank you so much for the example photos and for explaining the feathers! I have so much to learn!

Your boys are so handsome!

 

[Jetblack2004]

Pullets =)

 

[chickendreams24]

Chickendreams24, oops! Pullets! I recently saw pictures of other Orpington pullets and thought my girls' wattles looked larger than the others. Thank you so much for the example photos and for explaining the feathers! I have so much to learn!

Your boys are so handsome!

Thank you. Yes there's tons to learn.

Some things are dead giveaways though.

Not only the size of combs and wattles(which can vary to some degree based not only on breed age gender but also on strain or line) saddle and hackle feathers are also a huge sign so is crowing but some hens even crow. It's not common but can happen.

Pullets also tend to be less flashy colored and more evenly colored. You'll notice my lavender cockeral has some darker lavender shading on his shoulders although quite subtle in him and even missing all together in some colors(and some lavenders) in other breeds or colors it can be very very obvious. This coloration is also male specific.


As a better example of seeing the differences here are two more photos of black English Orpingtons again these are ours but from two different lines. Of course in black birds they should be black all the way through but differences can be seen. Please excuse how windblown the first picture is. Also our flock free ranges these were just taken next to the coop where the flock had killed the grass.

Below is Ella. She's a huge Orpington hen and super sweet.

Body shape type and carriage can also be helpful in identifying gender.

While black birds are irridescent in both names and females the colors can different and differences can still be seen.

Here's another photo of the roo because I found a better one.

In the above photo I managed to catch a bit of how his hackle feathers shine and look differentle than his other feathers almost like black glass.