Silver-Laced Wyandottes - Two Pullets? A Pullet and a Roo? Perplexed over differences in appearance!

[JsChicksNC]

We have two Silver-Laced Wyandottes, about 7-8 weeks old. There is something about the differences in their appearance that makes me think that they are not both pullets. Of course being a total newbie, I have no idea! Searching through the forums it seems like this breed leads to a lot of questions, probably because their faces get redder sooner than others? Anyway, in this top photo here is the one I think maybe is more likely a Pullet (Dot #1) and that's also her in the side shot underneath.





These next two photos are of the other one (Dot #2) that I think is possibly a Roo or at least more likely given the differences in their appearance.





And these are the ones that I tried to get of them near to each other. Dot #2 on the left and Dot #1 on the right.



Dot #2 in the foreground and Dot #1 in the background.



Dot #1 on the left/background and Dot #2 on the right/foreground.




Thoughts? Opinions??? So curious!!

 

[donrae]

My first thought is they're both roosters

With this color, the white patches on the wings usually indicate boy. I've seen lots of slower developing wyandotts here the last few years, so you can't always go by comb development, although that looks like a fair amount of comb for the age also.
Keep us posted?

 

[JsChicksNC]

My first thought is they're both roosters

With this color, the white patches on the wings usually indicate boy. I've seen lots of slower developing wyandotts here the last few years, so you can't always go by comb development, although that looks like a fair amount of comb for the age also.
Keep us posted?

Oh boy! I guess that was a possibility I hadn't considered, lol. They came from our local feed store who gets them from a hatchery. This particular batch of SLW was smaller than what they expected and I think had been with the USPS a little longer than they were supposed to so several didn't make it. Dot #2 is actually a replacement for the other Dot we had that didn't make it. I just wondered if SLWs had red faces earlier than other breeds but maybe they are both Roos! I will definitely keep you posted. I swear I heard someone crow yesterday but I don't know who it was.

 

[MossyoakLane]

My SLW pullet looks like your red faced SLW. We are pretty positive she is a girl, but she does not have the white patches on her wings....her head is not as white either. She is the same age as yours. This was taken 2 weeks ago, She has a ton more red now.
.

 

[JsChicksNC]

My SLW pullet looks like your red faced SLW. We are pretty positive she is a girl, but she does not have the white patches on her wings....her head is not as white either. She is the same age as yours. This was taken 2 weeks ago, She has a ton more red now.
.

OK, that's good to know! Because Dot #2 has bigger white patches that's what made me think it has a higher chance of being a cockerel than Dot #1. It will be interesting to see how this goes. We weren't sure about keeping one rooster, definitely not two!

 

[Pele]

The white patches on the shoulders of the wings are not a good sign. But, then again, Wyandottes are notoriously difficult to determine gender for at a young age.

 

[Gifa]

They both look pullety to me. Dot 1 might be a Roo... looking at how square that tail looks. But none of your photos are terribly clear.


Here are my two hatchery SLW pullets when they were a similar age. You can see how different they looked, one having more obvious white patches on the wings, but both having white patches. You can also see their combs and wattles are starting to develop at this age two.





Here's a Pullet (front) and a Roo (back) same age for comparison. As you can see...white patches on the shoulders are NOT a good indicator of gender.



Here's a shot from above... Pullet on the left, Roo on the right.



Wattle size is... Saddle feathers are. But also, look at the shape and color of the tail. On hatchery pullets of this breed, the tails will be pointier, while the roo's tail will be more square. In addition to that... there is CONSIDERABLY more white on the tail feathers of pullets, where as almost no white on the roo's. The roo will start to get that beetle green sheen more noticeably starting at around 7-8 weeks of age. Especially on his tail feathers.

Also look at the black ring around the neck. On Roos, it goes all of the way around... on pullets, if there is one at all, it only goes around the back of their neck, and not on the front.

 

[JsChicksNC]

Thanks! This breed does seem much harder than others. I will try to get an overhead shot of each. Those pictures are very helpful, Gifa!

 

[JsChicksNC]

Gifa and others, here are some overhead shots we took this morning along with a face shot of Dot #2. Hopefully these help more so than the prior ones I had. The upper one is Dot #1 and the middle pic is Dot #2.

 

[Gifa]

I'm still leaning pullet for both. I can't really see the back feathers on the overhead of #2 because the wings are obscuring them... but the white on the longer tail feathers is just... slw roo's just don't have that. But, if any one of them would be roo it's #1. I am not sure if the white feather on the tail is from the back or the tail. Hard to see.