I have 27 buff orpingtons that are now 94 days old. Some will go to the freezer at 120 days old. I can't believe how much they have grown in 3 months, it's amazing. It is pretty obvious which ones are the males although I have yet to hear them crow. It's kind of like waiting for your kids to start talking. I have already tagged the two males that I'm keeping for the hens. They are beautiful birds. I will try to get some pics posted. I can't wait to hear them crow for the first time. I do have a question about one bird though. It is as big as the roos but it's crown and wattle is not as developed and is a nude color. A late blooming male or a butch female I don't know. And it has no tale all of the other birds have lovely tales and this one has a stump. Very short tale feathers. I will defiantly get a pic posted of this one. I know I still have a while but I can't wait for fresh eggs. There is nothing like a good home grown breakfast.
It might be a latent male or have some other issues so you may want to butcher it if you think it will not improve your flock http://www.avianaquamiser.com/ This link I posted if for chicken waterer but they also sent me a cd with the processing of chickens and it was really informative and not gory. They used cones and then also showed how to process the chickens. It was really good. Not sure if you needed it or wanted it but I thought I would put it up there just in case. Caroline
