Salmon Faverolle Roo - when will he look like a roo?

[Hopeful Peacock]

Hi everyone-

I hope I'm not making a fool of myself here. I have a fairly new flock (Spring 2011) and have 3 salmon faverolles among them. My little salmon hens (Muffy and Buffy) began laying recently- they are exactly 6 months old. I have always assumed the other is a Roo because he feathered out solid brown, and he is still solid brown. BUT he doesn't crow, and he doesn't breed the hens. He is also 6 months old and his name is Sriracha. (I have 13 total birds, including one other Roo, a fully mature Brahma - in case that makes a difference.) So, is he a roo? If so, when will he begin to look (and act) like a roo?

 

[JPHorvath]

A picture would be helpful

 

[I-Have-Happy-Hens]

Quote:

 

[BarkerChickens]

A photo would be helpful since it is the feathering, comb, etc that identifies a roo, not the color. Plus, being solid brown, I am guessing he/she is not a salmon faverolle since neither male or female SFs are solid brown. But, if you post a picture, we can sure help you identify the breed and gender!

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Salmon Faverolle Roo - when will he look like a roo?


Around 4 days old. The males have a dark spot on each wing by then.

You might have a dark hen, it's not unheard of.

Pictures would sure hep though as it could be anything going by the color alone.

 

[keesmom]

Quote:
It's a she. I've seen a lot of very dark Fav hens come out of hatcheries lately, including some that have a lot of black on them. In fact Meyer's has changed the Fav pictures in their catalog to reflect this - the hen is solid brown with a black muff.

Fav roos look much, much different. Like this

 

[melschicks]

I have the same situation this year... 3 out of 4 of my salmon faverolles are brownish/blackish but with hen size/feathers/etc. Only one ended up the buff/light brown color that is generally advertised for that breed. From all of my reading on breed characteristics, I had assumed those three would be roos, but they appear to be hens (not laying yet, thus the "appear"). It's reassuring to hear that it is common. Thanks for the thread!

 

[Pele]

This is very interesting to hear since one of the big hatcheries: Meyers, has a message on their site that they are 'currently improving the 2012' faverolles.

I wonder if this darkening is a trend overall. Interesting stuff!