3 week old ISA Brown Pullets... not sure if one's a rooster?

[margaret1657]

So we got baby ISA Brown chicks from tsc a few weeks ago, and they're supposed to all be females. But, now that they're about 3 weeks old, they're starting to get some permanent feathers. I've noticed that 5 of the 6 are getting normal dark brown feathers, but I know they're sex-linked, so I'm kind of suspicious of one of them in particular that's growing white feathers, and I think it might be a rooster, but I'm not positive. My family is beginner at raising chickens, so we're not sure if this is a rooster. Does anybody know?

Here's what most of them look like, starting to get dark brown feathers so I'm fairly confident that 5 of them are hens.



This is the one I'm suspicious of. I've heard that these isa browns are sex-linked. Is this a rooster???



Thank you.

 

[margaret1657]

Youll need some closer pictures and maybe wait till they are a bit older.

I have the same issue/questions! But I don't know how to make my own new thread.. I'm a newbie. 6 RSL (ISAs) from TSC came from townline hatchery. They are starting to get red feathers in most places but wings are still pretty creamy. They all had golden colorations when I picked them up at a few days. All their combs and lack of waddle formation suspects pullets. What do you think!?

I agree, they need time to grow out their feathers, it's extremely difficult to tell when they're that young. Btw, if you want to know how to start a thread, you just go to the forum that you want to post in, and there should be a blue button in the corner that says start a new thread. Hope this helps.

 

[margaret1657]

When do you think they theyre wing feathers will become red? If you think hey will. I know the reddish/gold chicks are supposed to be female, white-male... From the few other photos I've seen they are way darker by this time or in a week... I had no idea what they could be but from looking at towlines egg laying breeds there are only two options from there: ISA Browns and 'red cross' which I thought were the same thing LOL

It's still possible for that one to be a cockerel but very hard to tell. Usually, at least for my chickens, they start getting their red feathering around 2-3 weeks of age, I think the earliest to tell would be when they actually start their "ugly duckling" phase, that's when they have half feathers half down. Honestly, you never know with TSC. One time, my mom's cousin got 10 "pullets" from there, but 9 of them turned out to be roosters. Could you keep us posted on how they grow?

 

[NorthGeogia]

I got ISA Browns from TSC a couple of years ago. They said they were sold as straight run. I said ISA's are sex linked. They didn't know anything about them. Approximately 50 were pure white, while six had some coloring. I picked the 6. They all turned out to be pullets. Some had a lot of color, one had a white head and colored body, one had a colored head and a white body. So, as long as it has some color, its a pullet. Otherwise, sorry.

 

[NorthGeogia]

By the way...they consistently lay one large egg every day. An excellent choice for a layer. I have a three year old ISA hen from a previous flock. She still gives 4 or 5 huge, although somewhat distorted, eggs per week.

 

[junebuggena]

So we got baby ISA Brown chicks from tsc a few weeks ago, and they're supposed to all be females. But, now that they're about 3 weeks old, they're starting to get some permanent feathers. I've noticed that 5 of the 6 are getting normal dark brown feathers, but I know they're sex-linked, so I'm kind of suspicious of one of them in particular that's growing white feathers, and I think it might be a rooster, but I'm not positive. My family is beginner at raising chickens, so we're not sure if this is a rooster. Does anybody know?

Here's what most of them look like, starting to get dark brown feathers so I'm fairly confident that 5 of them are hens.



This is the one I'm suspicious of. I've heard that these isa browns are sex-linked. Is this a rooster???



Thank you.

What color is the mostly white one's chest? Golden or reddish feathering would mean it could be a pullet. However, if the chest is as white as the rest of the body, it is without a doubt a cockerel.

 

[margaret1657]

Thank you for replying!
It has some golden brown on it's chest, but does that mean it's conclusively a pullet? Because it only has a little bit of brown on it's chest.

 

[ftfarmer22]

Can you get a photo when they are a bit older, with better lighting?

 

[margaret1657]

Can you get a photo when they are a bit older, with better lighting?

yeah, I can get another photo this weekend and post it to the thread.

 

[margaret1657]

I got ISA Browns from TSC a couple of years ago.  They said they were sold as straight run.  I said ISA's are sex linked.  They didn't know anything about them.  Approximately 50 were pure white, while six had some coloring.  I picked the 6.  They all turned out to be pullets.  Some had a lot of color, one had a white head and colored body, one had a colored head and a white body.  So, as long as it has some color, its a pullet.  Otherwise, sorry.

the one I'm suspecting only has a tiny bit of golden brown on its chest. Is it possible it could still be a roo? Is it possible for an isa brown rooster to have a little bit of golden brown at all?