how can you tell the gender of a chicken?

i just started having chickens last year. on my first try i knew i had a rooster. all i had to do was look at the comb and wattles. now on my second year, i could tell there was a rooster at the age of 3 weeks. its so easy. no offense. need help determining whether your chicken is a male or female? show me a pic and i'll try to determine the gender.

and just to let you know a little about sex links:

black sex link male chicks have a white spot on their head.

here's one for you (i do know the gender of this one) this one is about 5 weeks old and is a d'uccle. anyone want to hazard a guess on gender on this lil one? please include your reason for what gender you think it is thank you

i say its a hen because the comb is too short to be a rooster at 5 weeks old. and at about 5 weeks they start crowing. is it crowing?

jedage13in2012 said:

i say its a hen because the comb is too short to be a rooster at 5 weeks old. and at about 5 weeks they start crowing. is it crowing?

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it also look wheaten colored

i thought pullet at that age as well and the comb stayed that way till the was 9.5 weeks of age at 10 weeks you could tell that this little d'uccle was a cockerel instead. when i realized that she was a he i went back and took a look at the chicks pics and the noticed the coloration and how area's on the wings were darker in color then the rest of the chick was which is an indicator of a cockerel. here he is now, he is a blue mille fleur. you can also see his saddles coming through in this pic as well (this pic is a month old so he has developed some more).



when sexing chickens remember to take in account not only comb and wattle development but also their age, breed if known, and coloration. d'uccles for the most part can be sexed at 3-4 weeks of age but there are some such as this one that don't show their true sex until 10 weeks or later.

also depending on age of the chick you may or may not be able to take in account the chicks behavior. remember that spur buds are never an indicator of gender nor is the presence of spurs as some hens do grow spurs.

Gender?

Thanks!

bantam pullet and mix breed but i would so love to have this little girl in my mixed flock

She's a real sweetie; I'm glad she turned up on our doorstep! Thank you very much for your chicken sex expertise.