Speckledhen, here is a picture of George today

[scgamecock]

It has been raining off and on all day from Tropical Storm Christobal and they are a little damp.

 

[speckledhen]

I'm looking....thinking....assessing.....hmm....I see why you're having a bit of trouble with this one, Marlon. Tell me again how old this one is. If you part the back feathers just above the tail, you may see saddle feathers coming in under the top ones. I'm thinking the head looks more like a cockerel right now. The body shape is usually more rounded on pullets, too.

 

[scgamecock]

He is 10 weeks old yesterday.He hasn't really acted like a boy much.

 

[speckledhen]

At 10 weeks, I'm going to say cockerel. Here are Velvet and Suede at 10 weeks old:

The lack of shiny hackle and saddles at his age was what was throwing me. And I was thinking he was a bit older than 10 weeks. So, you do have a George, I think.

 

[scgamecock]

This one hatched with George from a blue buff cross.

This is a black pullet from a blue buff cross.Imagine that.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, that's not unusual, actually since blue is really diluted black. My Glenda, the daughter of Suede with my Buff Brahma, is gorgeous black with feathered feet. Looks like a Black Brahma. I'll have to find a pic of her for you.

EDITED TO ADD PIC... here is Glenda, Blue Orp over Buff Brahma

 

[scgamecock]

She is beautiful.

 

[Mahonri]

Why the lack of tail feathers on some of them?

 

[speckledhen]

Well, Orpingtons dont have long tails. They are more like Cochins. And Suede took forever to grow in his sickle feathers as a youngster. We had a running joke about him being bobtailed then.

 

[scgamecock]

They are just young and sometimes they peck each other on the back when they just feathering out.