Speckled Sussex 11 weeks Hen or Roo?

[ChickenBeliever]

Hi!
Yet another impatient chicken mom here. What do you all think? Hen or Roo? Purchased as a pullet. The comb is actually rather pale pink unless the sunlight hits just right. She is broad across the back; bottom of the totem pole with 5 other chickens. Definately was less social as a little one, and cons

tantly on the move. Very difficult to hang on to when finally picking her up. Thanks ahead for your opinions!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'm thinking rooster.

 

[3riverschick]

Pullet, no spurs. See the feathers on the neck hackle? They are wider, and rounded at the ends. In a cockerel, they would be slimmer , and pointed at the ends.
Best,
Karen and the Light Sussex in western PA, USA

 

[ChickenBeliever]

I'm thinking rooster.

My chickens and my backyard squirrels get along quite well. Quite the entertainment!

 

[ChickenBeliever]

Pullet, no spurs. See the feathers on the neck hackle? They are wider, and rounded at the ends. In a cockerel, they would be slimmer , and pointed at the ends.
Best,
Karen and the Light Sussex in western PA, USA

I looked for that! In many ways, I can go either way....If I look at the tail feathers, they actually are round, albeit the tips at the end don't look like that in the photos. When you grab them, they are round but very see-through. And, I keep looking at the neck. Sometimes I could say they are pointy, but they are not really. Again, find them very rounded. Her comb and wattles very pale, but came in fairly fast. Might it be possible that she will "grow into" that comb and it eventually look normal for a hen? She is also very awkward and not even close to getting aggressive, even with my bantam who is now smaller that she. Though she has confronted a couple times one of her buddies, but was only just after getting out the the coop to stretch. Thanks for the reply! Blessings!

 

[ChickenBeliever]

Pullet, no spurs. See the feathers on the neck hackle? They are wider, and rounded at the ends. In a cockerel, they would be slimmer , and pointed at the ends.
Best,
Karen and the Light Sussex in western PA, USA

Hey Karen! So at this age if a rooster, he would already then have obvious spurs? There are only 'buds' just like all my other pullets/hens. Thx!

 

[3riverschick]

Honestly, I don't have a timeline on spur development. Just thinking something should be showing by now if a cockerel. Maybe a good research project on the Net. Don't worry about the tail feathers. just the neck hackle and your birds are wider and rounder at the ends, thus pullet. My pullets hatched July 19th this year have no more comb development than this girl of yours.

At What Age Do Spurs Develop on a Cockerel?
By Jen Davis
https://animals.mom.me/age-spurs-develop-cockerel-6685.html
excerpt from article:
"Spur Growth and Development
The spur starts out so small you cannot see it, but will grow as your bird develops. Some cockerels will have fully developed spurs by the time they are 3 months old. Others may take as long as 8 or 9 months before a functional spur develops fully. Spurs continue to grow as your bird ages, so an older rooster may have significantly longer spurs than a young rooster."
Karen

 

[PouleChick]

 

[JedJackson]

This one is a tough call, but I think it is probably a cockerel because of comb size and also by judging it in comparison to your other youngsters. But it could still go either way, so give it another couple of weeks and then reevaluate him/her.

It's much too early for spurs, and also a little too early for pointed male specific feathering, so you can't judge by those qualities, yet.

 

[JedJackson]

Honestly, I don't have a timeline on spur development. Just thinking something should be showing by now if a cockerel. Maybe a good research project on the Net. Don't worry about the tail feathers. just the neck hackle and your birds are wider and rounder at the ends, thus pullet. My pullets hatched July 19th this year have no more comb development than this girl of yours.

At What Age Do Spurs Develop on a Cockerel?
By Jen Davis
https://animals.mom.me/age-spurs-develop-cockerel-6685.html
excerpt from article:
"Spur Growth and Development
The spur starts out so small you cannot see it, but will grow as your bird develops. Some cockerels will have fully developed spurs by the time they are 3 months old. Others may take as long as 8 or 9 months before a functional spur develops fully. Spurs continue to grow as your bird ages, so an older rooster may have significantly longer spurs than a young rooster."
Karen

The problem I have with this is that female chickens can and do get spurs, too, and they can be pretty large ones. So the little bump that could appear at 11 weeks where the spurs will later develop can be present in both sexes.