No worries, I didn't mention it to poor Smokey. The gal is sensitive enough with that huge comb.
A rooster is a male over a year old, a cockerel is under a year old. A rooster is presumed to be at full growth and development, for showing purposes, where a cockerel may be forgiven for not having a truly developed tail, saddle feathers or spurs. For judging purposes, that's pretty huge. Same with a hen - she'd be over a year old, a pullet is under a year.
It doesn't matter so much for breeding purposes - a cockerel is absolutely capable of siring chicks. And a pullet lays eggs, so can lay a fertilized egg. She may, however, (and this varies greatly by breed) be too immature to properly brood or raise her chicks. In this case, we follow the farm idiom: When in trouble, stick a Silkie on it.
Now, some of the really large breeds such as a Cochin (which I have) may take significantly longer to develop into their roosterness. But that's known to the judges and they can make whatever allowances they will.
Fwiw, my Cochin roo Big Blue is still growing out his tail and he's a little over 18 months.
If the bird's hatch date is unknown, its up to the applicant and judge to do their best to decide.
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Date: 2011-09-01 04:34 pm (UTC)A rooster is a male over a year old, a cockerel is under a year old. A rooster is presumed to be at full growth and development, for showing purposes, where a cockerel may be forgiven for not having a truly developed tail, saddle feathers or spurs. For judging purposes, that's pretty huge. Same with a hen - she'd be over a year old, a pullet is under a year.
It doesn't matter so much for breeding purposes - a cockerel is absolutely capable of siring chicks. And a pullet lays eggs, so can lay a fertilized egg. She may, however, (and this varies greatly by breed) be too immature to properly brood or raise her chicks. In this case, we follow the farm idiom: When in trouble, stick a Silkie on it.
Now, some of the really large breeds such as a Cochin (which I have) may take significantly longer to develop into their roosterness. But that's known to the judges and they can make whatever allowances they will.
Fwiw, my Cochin roo Big Blue is still growing out his tail and he's a little over 18 months.
If the bird's hatch date is unknown, its up to the applicant and judge to do their best to decide.