What to look for in these bantam breeds?

[Hannahnic14]

I'm not sure this is the right place to post this.....so feel free to move it if it should be elsewhere! This is definitely a chicken newbie question! I feel kinda silly asking but oh well I'm going to pick up some 4-5 month old bantams and the guy says they are pullets. What should I look for to just double check? Will the combs be obvious enough at this age? I've never had these breeds so I don't know if there is a certain coloring I should look for.
These are the breeds I'm looking at getting.
Gold campines
Belgian d'anver
Wyandotte

Thanks!!!

 

[HappyClucker7]

Make sure the combs are not huge and bright red. Also, make sure there are no pointed hackle and saddle feathers.
Rooster's saddle feathers look like this:

Girl's saddle and hackle feathers are round, like this:

 

[Hannahnic14]

Thank you so much!

 

[HappyClucker7]

Thank you so much!

You're welcome!

 

[NatJ]

What should I look for to just double check? Will the combs be obvious enough at this age? I've never had these breeds so I don't know if there is a certain coloring I should look for.
These are the breeds I'm looking at getting.
Gold campines
Belgian d'anver
Wyandotte

I agree with HappyClucker7 about looking at combs, and watching out for pointy saddle feathers. Wattles can sometimes be just as useful as combs, because they are also bigger and redder in males. For the saddle feathers, be sure to consider the actual shape of the feathers, because sometimes hens will have pointy markings inside a rounded feather, which can be confusing.

When comparing combs and wattles, try to compare only among birds of the same breed, because there can be differences between breeds. Also, at 4-5 months old, some females may have much larger & redder combs than others, because some may be maturing and getting read to lay eggs.

Breed-specific considerations:

--Campines can be hen-feathered. That means the roosters have female-shaped feathers too. But you can go by the combs & wattles if that is the case.

--Belgian d'Anvers should have muff/beard on their faces (=extra feathers), so you won't be able to see their wattles very much no matter what gender they are. For them you'll check combs, and also avoid any with the long pointy male saddle feathers hanging down on each side in front of the tail.

--Wyandotte should be the easiest of the three, because you should be able to check comb, wattles, and saddle feathers. The saddle feathers on a male Wyandotte will not be as long as on some other breeds, but they will still be narrow and pointy. I don't know what color Wyandottes you will be looking at, but for some color varieties the males have black breasts and the females have light or patterned breasts.

Your best bet is probably to look at quite a few photos before you go see the birds, to get a sense of what is normal.

Here are some nice pages of pictures, and almost all are labeled with the genders:
https://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Quail/BRKQuailBty.html
https://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Wyand/BRKWyandBty.html
https://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Camp/BRKCampine.html

When looking at pictures, these terms can help:
hen is adult female
pullet is young female (under 1 year old)
rooster or cock is adult male
cockerel is young male (under 1 year old)
" a pair" is one male and one female
"chick" is a young one of either gender

 

[Hannahnic14]

I agree with HappyClucker7 about looking at combs, and watching out for pointy saddle feathers. Wattles can sometimes be just as useful as combs, because they are also bigger and redder in males. For the saddle feathers, be sure to consider the actual shape of the feathers, because sometimes hens will have pointy markings inside a rounded feather, which can be confusing.

When comparing combs and wattles, try to compare only among birds of the same breed, because there can be differences between breeds. Also, at 4-5 months old, some females may have much larger & redder combs than others, because some may be maturing and getting read to lay eggs.

Breed-specific considerations:

--Campines can be hen-feathered. That means the roosters have female-shaped feathers too. But you can go by the combs & wattles if that is the case.

--Belgian d'Anvers should have muff/beard on their faces (=extra feathers), so you won't be able to see their wattles very much no matter what gender they are. For them you'll check combs, and also avoid any with the long pointy male saddle feathers hanging down on each side in front of the tail.

--Wyandotte should be the easiest of the three, because you should be able to check comb, wattles, and saddle feathers. The saddle feathers on a male Wyandotte will not be as long as on some other breeds, but they will still be narrow and pointy. I don't know what color Wyandottes you will be looking at, but for some color varieties the males have black breasts and the females have light or patterned breasts.

Your best bet is probably to look at quite a few photos before you go see the birds, to get a sense of what is normal.

Here are some nice pages of pictures, and almost all are labelled with the genders:
https://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Quail/BRKQuailBty.html
https://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Wyand/BRKWyandBty.html
https://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/Camp/BRKCampine.html

When looking at pictures, these terms can help:
hen is adult female
pullet is young female (under 1 year old)
rooster or cock is adult male
cockerel is young male (under 1 year old)
" a pair" is one male and one female
"chick" is a young one of either gender

Thanks! This was very useful!! Filling my brain now