The Poultry Keeper

creamcrackered · Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:43 pm Post subject: SEXING

i bought 2 orpingtons a couple of weeks ago and the lady said they were about 14 weeks old and "ladies". one of my ladies looks more developed than the other, she has always been the larger of the 2 hence the name pudding, but looking at her today i noticed that the comb looks a lot larger than the other chook also the wattle and they are also redder, now i'd be the first to admit ithat i'm new to the chicken game, but i wondered if it were possible that i might have a boy?, how am i going to find out whether it is or not? do i have to wait it it either lays an egg or crows, or is there another way?

summayah · Joined: 14 Apr 2005 Posts: 4289 Location: luton

When I bought my orpington girl shwe was 9 weeks and fully feathered whereas the boys were still bare on their backs between their wings. Can you remember what she looked like? It could be that the larger one is getting ready to lay, although I would have thought it was a little early for an orpington. Knobby has orpingtons so maybe he would know.

richard · Joined: 14 Oct 2005 Posts: 258 Location: somerset

I've heard that cocks can start crowing as early as 3 months so you should be ok. Also, I think Orpington cocks should have distinctly different markings to the hen though I don't have this breed myself but I know someone locally who has.

creamcrackered · Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:44 pm Post subject:

i really hope it's a girl and i'm worrying about nothing, the kids will be heartbroken if i have to get rid of pudding

stamina · Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 10:12 pm Post subject:

Orpingtons are slow to mature and are notoriously difficult to sex, even to an experienced chicken keeper. The male female colouring is the same throughout except in the blue, when the cock birds Hackles, saddle, wingbow,back and tail should be a very dark slate blue remainder of the bird, slate blue. The hen bird is slate blue throughout.
The black's, buff's and white's are the same colour in both sexes.

That's why I only keep the blue's Wink

Stamina
Sorry I can't be more helpful. Sad

creamcrackered · Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:21 pm Post subject:

thanks stamina, these are buffs, i hav'nt heard any crowing yet but then i'm dead to the world till the kids drag me out of bed by my toes. perhaps knobby might see this thread and give me an expert orp opinion.

Knobby · Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:13 am Post subject:

creamcrackered · Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:09 pm Post subject:

flip!

CP · Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:13 pm Post subject:

She may just be getting ready to lay. Wink

When we saw Heather's Orps last weekend, one was much redder than the other & she has just laid her first egg.

Other than that, just wait till it crows! Shocked

creamcrackered · Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:09 pm Post subject:

i hope shes getting ready to lay, i havn't had any eggs yet so i'm waitng hopefully every day, i thought the meadowsweat would come into lay first but i don't care as long as i get an egg Drool

Knobby · Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 9:15 am Post subject:

I wouldve thought tho' that at only 16ish weeks old, it woiuld be too young for an Orp to start laying.........mine didnt start till about 25 weeks ???

creamcrackered · Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:17 am Post subject:

i'm only going age wise on what the lady told me at the garden centre, i'm presuming that they don't breed them there just buy them in from a supplier, so unless she asked the supplier she was possibly just guessing Confused

as usual i jumped in with 2 feet then asked questions when buying them, if i'd looked here first i proberbly would have done it differently, hard to tell sometimes which is the best way to do things, i might of talked myself out of having the chickens and missed out on a lot of fun Smile

having said that, the chooks were up on the kids trampoline this morning which is in the front garden so everyone who went past the house must have thought they were getting their morning exercise Laughing

Knobby · Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:45 am Post subject:

Chooks on a trampoline ???

I tried to get mine interested in a football....they would run after it if i rolled it along the ground, but wouldnt kick it about on their own !! Anxious

mojo · Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:48 am Post subject:

maybe they are rugby fans

CP · Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:32 am Post subject:

Please get a pic next time they take their morning trampoline exercises! Love to see that! Laughing