Roos? Pullets? Backyard newbie

[edselpdx]

I have my own thoughts, but don't want to influence the voting... There are only 3-- BR, GLW, and a BO.
Almost forgot--they're about 7.5 weeks old.
Thanks!

 

[agnes_day]

in my very humble opinion, i would say the 2 bottom ones are girls..and the one on top could be either. i have a girl with a tail just like that.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
I agree that the BR & BO are girls - I don't know about the GLW - I see some wattles developing, but I've never had that breed myself.

 

[edselpdx]

Thanks for the input. You both identified my main roo suspect. We'll see before too long. The neighbors will be unhappy if once s/he start crowing. Persephone's my favorite, too!
ed

 

[edselpdx]

Just a follow-up. They are now 16 weeks old and all 3 of the chix are definitely girls. GLW just had early-ish wattles and comb development, but we won't have to change her name to "Persephon-HE".

Her wattles and comb were redder and larger earlier, but the others have caught up with her and no signs of any other signs of "maleness".

 

[Zephyr Farms]

I think there all hens

 

[Namble]

BO and BR are girls I am pretty sure. The GLW looks like a young male.

 

[Uppity Peon]

I'd like to see the GLW at another angle, but for comparison...

Here is my SLW boy at 6 weeks:

And some GLW girls at 6 weeks:

 

[edselpdx]

Dear Uppity (me too)--
Greeting from PDX. I'm sorry that I don't have more specific pictures from that point in time for my girls. I was worried about Persephone the GLW, but as I said... this is an update, they're now much older, and she was just an "early bloomer." Her wattles and comb developed and got reddish waaaay earlier than the other 2 (BO and BR); I was really concerned, as my backyard flock is for hobby and eggs, not stewpot. However, the development slowed, and now at 16 weeks, I'm quite sure I've got 3 girls. In retrospect, it was more pink and not really red, just redder in comparison to my other girls.

I've learned from much online conversation, that pointy saddle feathers are the single best indicator of males. Look at your babe from the side, looking at the meaty back part of the thigh and up towards the tail... any pointy feathers? If so, you've got a male. I was also told that pointy feathers where the neck meets the body can be male indicators. In my GLW, there's kind of an optical illusion of pointy feathers there, but if you actually hold the bird, you'll see that that's just coloration, and the feathers are blunt at the tip.

sonya