Any early behaviors that make you believe one gender or another?

[PowellAnimals]

Now I understand that you can't sex many breeds at a young age. However, it is fun to guess based on certain traits. For example, a few days ago I put in one week old chicks with three weeks old chicks. Two of my four older silkies which are straight run and a Dominique (which I know is a pullet) have since decided to sit on and lay with all of the chicks. It is not uncommon to find multiple chicks trying to make their way under the wings of these still-tiny silkies, and boy, do they look uncomfortable trying to sleep standing up with tiny chicks between their legs. On the other hand, a three week old Polish suddenly began acting as the look-out and sitting on any perch looking alert as soon as you let the tiny flock out. He also began running out with his chest and bumping into other chicks. It probably is just a coincidence with age, although my other three-week old Polish does not do it, but if I had to take a wild guess at this age I would say the silkies were acting maternal and the Polish was either a dominant hen or going to end up being a rooster. Does anyone else take guesses based on behavior? Have you had any of your guesses turn out to be correct?

 

[GitaBooks]

I agree, it is fun to guess!

Here are some behaviors I note in roosters:
They stand higher
The tail feathers and wing feathers grow in slower but the body grows faster
The legs are thicker and appear stronger
The roosters tend to argue more (hens still chest bump and peck, just not as much)
They pin there eyes more (their pupils become smaller)
The comb is larger and brighter, as are the
They are either extra friendly are extra stand-offish around people, and usually bold (not always though)
They sometimes appear to have larger beaks (though this could be breed)


Silkie roosters sometimes show maternal instincts, as it is bred into the breed to be good parents. I think I heard they will sometimes even go broody!

The Polish is likely a rooster, but it could just be the dominant bird of the flock. Polish chickens are usually more shy, however, so I would think rooster.


I hope this helps!

A young bantam rooster


A young dorking rooster next to what I assume is a pullet


Two pullets


Momma silkie with two roo chicks (including the white one) and a pullet (if I remember correctly)

 

[azygous]

Gita's right on! I totally agree!

Ten weeks ago I got some new chicks, ordering breeds that can be visually sexed at hatching to ensure I'd be getting only pullets and not have to go through the "guessing game" and subsequent paranoia wondering if I'd end up with a rooster.

Well, I was very smug and so sure that when two of the "pullets" began chest bumping as a daily ritual, it meant nothing - all chicks do it, right?

These "slam-dunk" pullets turned out to be cockerels. So I've been consistently correct in predicting which chicks will be cockerels from their combative behavior as very tiny chicks.

Gita's list ought to be a sticky on this forum, in my expert opinion.

 

[GitaBooks]

Gita's right on! I totally agree!

Ten weeks ago I got some new chicks, ordering breeds that can be visually sexed at hatching to ensure I'd be getting only pullets and not have to go through the "guessing game" and subsequent paranoia wondering if I'd end up with a rooster.

Well, I was very smug and so sure that when two of the "pullets" began chest bumping as a daily ritual, it meant nothing - all chicks do it, right?

These "slam-dunk" pullets turned out to be cockerels. So I've been consistently correct in predicting which chicks will be cockerels from their combative behavior as very tiny chicks.

Gita's list ought to be a sticky on this forum, in my expert opinion.

Thanks.

Turns out a lot of my pullets are turning into roosters too. I ordered them as pullets, so I wanted to ignore the signs, but it has progressed to the point where I can't. Sigh. Oh well, I don't really mind roosters, its just that I paid for pullets.

 

[azygous]

Depending on where you ordered them, you might be able to recover the cost. I ordered mine from My Pet Chicken and I sent them photographic proof on Monday that two of the "pullets" that are supposed to be roo-proof are indeed roos. They gave be a choice of full refund, including shipping or replacing and reshipping my order. I chose to replace them, added one more chick to meet the minimum and am getting three new pullets (I hope) for the price of one and free shipping.

Everything is negotiable, by the way, no matter what the stated policy may be. This I've learned from decades of meekly going along with the program. You really can have your way more times than not just by negotiating.

 

[GitaBooks]

Depending on where you ordered them, you might be able to recover the cost. I ordered mine from My Pet Chicken and I sent them photographic proof on Monday that two of the "pullets" that are supposed to be roo-proof are indeed roos. They gave be a choice of full refund, including shipping or replacing and reshipping my order. I chose to replace them, added one more chick to meet the minimum and am getting three new pullets (I hope) for the price of one and free shipping.

Everything is negotiable, by the way, no matter what the stated policy may be. This I've learned from decades of meekly going along with the program. You really can have your way more times than not just by negotiating.

Thank you for the advise!

We got ours from McMurray, and I had agreed to letting them replace any breeds they didn't have available at the time. However, they didn't replace the breed, apparently they just replaced the gender. Because I agreed to this I can't really complain, however, I do think I still paid the full price for pullets.

 

[SoonerMykah]

I agree with that list, although breed comes in to play. My 10 year old son has a gift for guessing the sex (90%) no joke. He says "hey Dad, that one there is gonna be a roo" I used to argue with him, but he ends up being right so often that I have to agree with him now. Lil man is a true chicken whisperer!!

 

[azygous]

I agree with that list, although breed comes in to play. My 10 year old son has a gift for guessing the sex (90%) no joke. He says "hey Dad, that one there is gonna be a roo" I used to argue with him, but he ends up being right so often that I have to agree with him now. Lil man is a true chicken whisperer!!

You could hire that kid out to people who are sweating the sex of their chicks and make a bundle.

 

[SoonerMykah]

LOL, Ive considered it, everytime I look at the feed bill for my chickens!!