Help! Boys or girls? Different breeds

urbanchookLA said:

Oh ok! Sorry I'm new so I don't know much besides what I get online. I guess I'm referring to the start of those feathers growing. They have feathers already in those spots so I don't know what to call them. As for the "ridge", I don't know the proper term, but I read in some forums that the back of the chickens feathering will develop different in males and females. Males will develop poorly at first and it will be a thin line (why I guess I called it a ridge). While females back feathers will be wider and more developed at the same age. Thats just what I read in a few places

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It's alright! Yes, they will grow feathers in the areas where hackle/saddle/sickle feathers will eventually appear, but for now they won't tell you anything. But, I've heard somewhere that cockerels grow their feathers more slowly, which might lend to the idea that a thinner ridge means a rooster, but I wouldn't rely on that; the comb is definitely the best way to tell if your chick is a cockerel.

Rate of feather development is no indicator of gender. Male specific feathering usually doesn't begin to develop until about 10 weeks of age, and it can take a few more weeks for those feathers to be clearly visible.

junebuggena said:

Rate of feather development is no indicator of gender. Male specific feathering usually doesn't begin to develop until about 10 weeks of age, and it can take a few more weeks for those feathers to be clearly visible.

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Ok so this is the info I found in another thread in case anyone was wondering:
Originally Posted by Gritsar
ETA: For future reference:

According to UC Davis Veterinary Care Program.
2. Physical Characteristics (4-6 weeks of age)
a. Comb The cockerels comb is medium size and pinkish, the pullets is small and yellowish.
b. Legs The cockerels legs are sturdy and long, the pullets are finer and shorter.
c. Tail The cockerels tail is stumpy and curved, the pullets is longer and straight.
d. Back The cockerel has a thin line of stub feathers down the center of his back, the pullet has more advanced feathering along the center of her back.
e. Side of neck, flank and crop The feathering in the cockerel in these areas is poorly advanced, the pullets feathering in these areas is well advanced.
f. Wing bows In the cockerel the wing bows are bare, in pullets the wing bows are covered with small feathers.

I've had pullets with thicker legs, and shorter, stumpier tails, and roosters with fuller feathering, etc; in the end, most of these are not absolute certainties. Even combs and wattles, which in my opinion are the most reliable sign, may not give you a guaranteed result. But I'd rather depend on comb development than anything else.

It's been my experience that comb development and coloration are the most reliable indicators of gender.

Also, one more thing, behavior is probably one of the least reliable methods to determining gender, besides old wive's tales. I have had very shy cockerels and very gregarious pullets!

Picklesquidly said:

I've had pullets with thicker legs, and shorter, stumpier tails, and roosters with fuller feathering, etc; in the end, most of these are not absolute certainties. Even combs and wattles, which in my opinion are the most reliable sign, may not give you a guaranteed result. But I'd rather depend on comb development than anything else.

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Ok I see what you all are saying. And if I'm going by comb color alone, then it seems like of my 5 chicks, just one is female. AND I got three of them from a place that sexes its chicks what are the chances that all three of those sexed chicks are male? Is that just incredibly unlucky? That's a 1/8 chance, even if it was just a 50% chance that I was getting a boy (nonsexed) but these are sexed so the chances of me getting a three boys in a row are from sexed chicks is 1/1,000. It just seems too unlucky to be real! I think that's why I'm in such denial

Hatchery vent sexing is usually about 90% accurate, but it's more of an art than a science.

junebuggena said:

Hatchery vent sexing is usually about 90% accurate, but it's more of an art than a science. 

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Yeah :/ I used that 90% to do the math for my chances here. This week I'm not much more certain about the sex at all. Pics soon