White Leghorn - Pullet or Cockerel

[The Coop Crew]

Oh good! A pullet! Now I know what to look for in leghorns as they mature quicker and their tails are longer. I love learning!

 

[FrostRanger]

I generally don't place any stock in the tail length of birds that young. Many pullets depending on breed breed can have long tails. Tail length at that age can be pretty random tbh

 

[wrathsfarm]

@wrathsfarm what do you think?

Going off the redness of the comb and size I would have guessed cockerel.

This photo here shows the saddle feathers look like they're starting to droop over but their not pointed yet, which also makes sense still at that early age as the saddles would be just starting to form. That's where I would have based my guess on....

I'm not familiar with Leghorns tho, and as others have chimed in with much more experience... I would have been wrong on this one.

Always willing to learn here and appreciate when more experienced members share their knowledge in depth.

 

[NatJ]

This photo here shows the saddle feathers look like they're starting to droop over but their not pointed yet, which also makes sense still at that early age as the saddles would be just starting to form. That's where I would have based my guess on....

Feathers like that happen sometimes in pullets with long tails (I'm thinking Leghorn-kind of long, not only the extreme longtails like Phoenix.)

A feather cannot get a pointed tip later, if it starts out rounded. The male saddle feathers get their pointed tips first, and then grow long enough to droop. That is because of the way feathers grow from the base: the tip comes out of the skin first, then gets pushed further and further out as more feather grows behind it.

I'm not familiar with Leghorns tho, and as others have chimed in with much more experience... I would have been wrong on this one.

It should become more clear over the next few months, and then we can all learn what it really is. Even experienced people make mistakes sometimes

 

[wrathsfarm]

Feathers like that happens sometimes in pullets with long tails (I'm thinking Leghorn-kind of long, not only the extreme longtails like Phoenix.)

A feather cannot get a pointed tip later, if it starts out rounded. The male saddle feathers get their pointed tips first, and then grow long enough to droop. That is because of the way feathers grow from the base: the tip comes out of the skin first, then gets pushed further and further out as more feather grows behind it.


It should become more clear over the next few months, and then we can all learn what it really is. Even experienced people make mistakes sometimes

This is really great info, thank you.

I try to chime in on these breeds I know little about even if gender has been narrowed down in the beginning and what I would've guessed was wrong, it helps when members like yourself can identify what I'm perceiving with detailed explanations.

It's much appreciated...

 

[sourland]

It's a pullet. A 9/10 week old Leghorn would have much more developed wattles and comb. Tail shape is a very inaccurate indicator of gender in young birds.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Agree with the tail shape being inaccurate. I have noticed that many pullets, especially Easter Eggers (this gene was most likely accidentally bred into many Easter Egger strains), will grow long tail feathers that appear to droop downward and it will confuse beginners into thinking those are sickles.

 

[FrostRanger]

I can confirm, a lot of my easter eggers had long tails at one point or another and they all ended up being females regardless of tail length (I've been fortunate thus far)

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I can confirm, a lot of my easter eggers had long tails at one point or another and they all ended up being females regardless of tail length (I've been fortunate thus far)

I had an Easter Egger named Rosemary. She had a very long tail feather that looked a lot like a sickle feather. Unfortunately she passed away young so I did not get the chance to see if any more feathers like that would sprout up.