Tricky BR---Pullet or Rooster? Please Help!

[WoodinvilleChicken]

We adopted this little BR chicken a month ago and now I'm concerned that "Miss Moneypenny" may not be a girl after all

Can you help? I'm confused about the feather patterns.

Thank you!

 

[HidingInTheHenHouse]

Coloration of feathers and legs is female. However, in the first pic it looks like you can see some saddle feathers coming down before the tail. So maybe a female colored male??? Do you know how old? Could you take some more pics of her from the side and from above perhaps?

 

[WoodinvilleChicken]

Hi there,

She/He is about 13 weeks old. Very dark in color and just such a nice little chicken. I'll hate to rehome him, but there is no way in our little suburban neighborhood that we could keep a roo. I'll see if I can get another picture uploaded from the top.

 

[PotterWatch]

Pictures from the side would be very helpful.

 

[WoodinvilleChicken]

Ok, just took one from the side:

 

[speckledhen]

Sorry that is a rooster! Saddle feathers give it away. Yes, it's very dark for a BR male, however, I had some Silver Phoenix roo over BR hen cockerels who looked just like that. I really thought they were pure BR pullets with faded barring, till the comb got red way too early.

 

[speckledhen]

Here is a pair of 12 week old BR pullets for comparison--see the lack of comb?

Here are two Silver Phoenix/BR cross cockerels I mentioned:

 

[WoodinvilleChicken]

Oh, how sad and disappointing

Second time this year. Well thank you very much for letting me know, better to find a home for him now than get even more attached!

 

[walkswithdog]

You get very dark males when you outcross to non-barred birds. Males dark like that carry only a single barring gene, hence darker rather than the pretty, lighter and more sharply barred, double gened Roos.

Right now I get a lot of those, makes it simple to cull. Oh look - barred, dark, boy... meat pen.

 

[fordmommy]

That's a boy. So sorry.