Roo confirmation before I accidently send a pullet to the farm

[jenn-]

I think both boys as well - sorry.

Nothing to be sorry about. I had already written them both off as boys.

Okay...I'm going to differ with the others.

The EE is definitely a rooster...red bars on wings, dead give away. Give him away.

Now the black one. It's a mix. I find they can develop quickly with hybrid vigor and have personally given away fast developing barnyard mix pullet convinced it was going to be a roo, and SHE laid at 14 weeks (checked my dates twice)...gave her to my daughter's farm...best layer she had. I get chided about that periodically, so I wait a bit longer with barnyard mixes because you've got a lot of genes that don't "follow the rules" developmentally.

I'm not seeing clear "saddles" starting...they look a little pointy, maybe, in the 3rd photo, but are not clear cut being male...yet. I'm seeing a lot of round feathers right now, and a nice round tail.

Being a mix of Australorp and potentially BCM, you could get a girl looking just about like that with a precocious comb who may begin to lay in a couple of weeks...one of my BCM's developed fast and laid early too....and had some "mossy back," red on her back and wings which worried me. The black one does not have clear wing bars, yet, and I've had plenty barnyard mixes with somewhat male-ish patterns which evened out as they went through a final juvenile molt.

Unless you've got a real problem keeping the black one for a little longer, I personally would hold off giving it away. She may turn into your best layer. You should know within a month. She'll either start laying, or those saddles will get pointy, the red bars will deepen, and crowing may come.

LofMc

I can actually keep the little black one around a while longer. The EE has got to go. He's to the point he is bullying my Australorp to the point she is running in terror from him.

 

[BantamLover21]

Both cockerels.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Nothing to be sorry about. I had already written them both off as boys.
I can actually keep the little black one around a while longer. The EE has got to go. He's to the point he is bullying my Australorp to the point she is running in terror from him.

Good luck...I think the black one will turn out to be a rooster (especially as I look closer at the third pic), but if in doubt, wait it out...we've all been surprised.

LofMc