At what age can you tell the sex?

[WaddleWaddle]

My chicks are about a week and a half old and are getting lots of feathers in. How old do they have to be before you can get a pretty good idea of sex?

 

[Fred's Hens]

At six weeks, the single comb birds of hatchery sourcing are usually showing their stuff. Won't help that much with other comb types, but with the single comb varieties, the cockerels often are the first to sprout their secondary sex characteristics of pink comb and little red wattles forming under their beaks. The pullets remain a kind of beige yellow look and won't normally sprout their combs and wattles until they are much closer to laying eggs.

Of course, when the "lay or crow" stage comes, you know for certain. LOL

 

[JaceAgain]

Depends on what kind of chickens you got

 

[Gavwyn]

Yes, it will help us if you can tell us what breeds you have, and if they are large fowl (standard sized), or bantam (the miniature sized chickens). Or, if you don't know the breeds, if you'll send photos, we can help you try to identify the breeds.

In my experience, some breeds are slower to develop feathers: the Cochins, Salmon Faverolles, Jersey Giants, etc. Basically, the heavier breeds. I also think that large fowl birds tend to develop more slowly than the bantams.

With a lot of my bantam breed chicks, I could get a pretty good idea of sex by looking at combs & wattles around 3-4 weeks old. With the large fowl breed chicks, I could look at combs & wattles by 6-8 weeks old.

If you want to wait a little longer, once the chicks get their saddle feathers (which are the feathers on their back, near their tail), this is a great way to tell girls from the boys.

Here's a photo example from the American Buckeye Poultry Club, which shows how a pullet's saddle feathers (on the left-side of the photo) are rounded and wide; a cockerel/rooster (on the right-side of the photo) has thin, sickle-shaped feathers.


If you want to share photos of your chicks, we can all help you guess!

 

[aart]

Yes, it will help us if you can tell us what breeds you have, and if they are large fowl (standard sized), or bantam (the miniature sized chickens). Or, if you don't know the breeds, if you'll send photos, we can help you try to identify the breeds.

In my experience, some breeds are slower to develop feathers: the Cochins, Salmon Faverolles, Jersey Giants, etc. Basically, the heavier breeds. I also think that large fowl birds tend to develop more slowly than the bantams.

With a lot of my bantam breed chicks, I could get a pretty good idea of sex by looking at combs & wattles around 3-4 weeks old. With the large fowl breed chicks, I could look at combs & wattles by 6-8 weeks old.

If you want to wait a little longer, once the chicks get their saddle feathers (which are the feathers on their back, near their tail), this is a great way to tell girls from the boys.

Here's a photo example from the American Buckeye Poultry Club, which shows how a pullet's saddle feathers (on the left-side of the photo) are rounded and wide; a cockerel/rooster (on the right-side of the photo) has thin, sickle-shaped feathers.


If you want to share photos of your chicks, we can all help you guess!

This doesn't happen until they are 3-5 months old.

 

[Gavwyn]

Yes, it's true! You have to wait a bit longer to see saddle feathers, but saddle feathers grow in sooner than waiting on them to crow - which, in my experience, takes even longer.

(And yes, I know that some people have their roosters crow much earlier, but mine never do! I don't hear crowing from mine until they're 5-6 months old. Maybe because I don't have any roosters on my property for them to hear crowing?)

 

[WaddleWaddle]

Ok I just got in from the coop and tried to take photos of them but they move so fast and in all directions I didn't know who I took pictures of and who I didn't!!!! There are a couple who love attention and were practically in my pocket. There are 23 chicks total, so here it goes! Here is my list of chicks I have in there:

1 Blue Ameraucana roo
2 Barred Rock
4 Black Australorp
2 Buff Orpington
2 Dominique
5 Easter Egger
2 Light Brahma
2 Olive Egger
1 Meyer Meal maker
2 "Packing peanuts"




This is most of the gang.





And this is what happens when I get in the brooder with them!







I am assuming this little guy is my Blue "Ameraucana" (hatchery) roo I ordered. He is the only one of this color.






































Brahma

 

[Gavwyn]

If the two chicks in this photo are the same age, then I'd guess that the chick on the LEFT is a boy; the chick on the RIGHT is a pullet. Why? See how the chick on the left doesn't have any tail feathers yet, while the one on the right does? The girls usually get tail feathers first (I say, USUALLY, but sometimes they can surprise you! I had the prettiest little Chocolate Orpington chick this summer and all the other chicks had tail feathers, but she didn't and I just knew she was going to be a boy, but she grew up to be a lovely little hen.)

 

[Gavwyn]

When they get a little older (like, between 4-8 weeks), you can also look at how thick their legs are: the skinnier legs are usually the girls; the sturdy, thick legged ones are typically the boys.

 

[WaddleWaddle]

@Gavwyn Gosh I really hope I just have some late bloomers otherwise I will have a lot of roos! It does look like the Dominiques and Barred Rocks as a whole have less tail feathers than everomyone else. Are they slower to mature?