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Young Australorp Chicks -- Roosters or Hens?

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post #1 of 8

3/8/12 at 10:00am

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FlockHappy

Location: North Carolina
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I got twelve young Australorps. Today I moved them out into the coop...(they were getting too big for the cage). As soon as I moved them out, some of them started cock fighting. (Kind of shocking for such young birds). I'm not sure which ones are roosters. Australorps are all solid black, and both the roosters and the hens have pretty big combs and wattles. I was wondering if anyone has experience with telling young australorp pullet and cockerels apart.

Here's some pics I just took today:

See how big all their combs already are....

I'm pretty sure this fellow below is a rooster. Several of them look like that.

This is one of the ones with a smaller comb:

A few last pictures:

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"What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

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"What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

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post #2 of 8

3/8/12 at 1:14pm

BlazeJester

Location: Pendleton, SC
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I see a LOT of roosters. How old? My aussie girls didn't get pink combs until about 8 weeks and they didn't really grow until about 16 weeks.

I'd say every one of your chicks with descended wattles is a roo. I hope you have some hens.

~Meg~
The remaining 6 of my original 7 barred rocks are 3yrs old and happily divided between a friend and my mom.
Laying: 2 Partridge Rocks, 1 Columbian Wyandotte and 2 Black Australorps. 14 weeks: 3 bantam Araucana.
Cowed to chicken math and sharing my bedroom with 8 BBS Ameraucana mixes.

post #3 of 8

3/9/12 at 7:25am

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FlockHappy

Location: North Carolina
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They are only about five weeks. YIKES! I don't know what to do. The lady I got them had ordered tons of chicks from a hatchery.....I think it was a hatchery. I hope she hadn't ordered all roosters. Every single one of them...and I have twelve....have descended combs, some more larger than others. This is terrible.

"When men sought to make Him a king He fled; now that they seek to put Him to death He goes out to meet them."

"What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

"When men sought to make Him a king He fled; now that they seek to put Him to death He goes out to meet them."

"What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

post #4 of 8

3/9/12 at 7:42am

RhodeRunner

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She probably ordered straight run, which is unsexed chicks. There are hens in the group too, but there are quite a few roosters. The birds with larger combs/wattles, are larger, and have slower growing feathers are males. The ones with the smaller combs, smaller bodes (particularly noticeable in the legs), with nice smoothly grown feathers are females.

Silver Ameraucanas, Blue Bredas, Partridge Chanteclers, and Bantam Spangled Russian Orloffs.

http://www.jcpoultry.com

Silver Ameraucanas, Blue Bredas, Partridge Chanteclers, and Bantam Spangled Russian Orloffs.

http://www.jcpoultry.com

post #5 of 8

3/9/12 at 8:17am

aoxa

Location: Shediac Cape NB, Canada
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I see three possible pullets in the first picture, but the rest look like roos.. Except the one in the 4th picture. That one looks to be a pullet.

LES Farms

Breeder of nothing right now.Read our RE-Build of LES Farms Thread.

Lost everything in a barn fire 2/11/13. Can't even pull it together.

Thank you for all the condolences and all the support and donations given to help us rebuild. You are all so special to us.

Please READ my thread about FIRE SAFETY. Trying to save as many others from the little mistakes that cost me everything.

LES Farms

Breeder of nothing right now.Read our RE-Build of LES Farms Thread.

Lost everything in a barn fire 2/11/13. Can't even pull it together.

Thank you for all the condolences and all the support and donations given to help us rebuild. You are all so special to us.

Please READ my thread about FIRE SAFETY. Trying to save as many others from the little mistakes that cost me everything.

post #6 of 8

3/9/12 at 11:05am

lorabethwiggins

Joined: 3/2012
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A lot of them look like roosters but a few look like hens. Bad luck I guess to get so many roosters but I may be wrong. It's happened once to me.

post #7 of 8

3/15/12 at 9:31pm

We4newbies

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I, too, only had access to a straight-run for Aussies, so I may be feeling your pain, here in a few weeks, FlockHappy! I do hope your situation turned out better than the pictures seemed to indicate! By the way, Gritsar posted some great tips for distinguishing between the cockerels and pullets in the thread, "Pullets or Cockerels? How to Tell". I highly recommend checking it out! Either way, Enjoy your chickies!

post #8 of 8

3/15/12 at 10:16pm