Sp. Sussex, 12 weeks - Gender?

[Anuthatch]

These are my first chickens. I'm starting to think I might have 3 pullets and a roo. They were all sexed as pullets by Meyer via My Pet Chicken. The good news is that I can keep a roo if the good part out weighs the bad. They free range so a roo might be helpful. I'd love some hen raised chicks, too.

Curious. Is it highly likely these chickens are siblings if they all came from the same hatchery at the same time?

Anybody want to tell me what gender they see?



Hopefully this is not the same bird as #1. There are 2 that look alike.

Here's the one I'm suspicious of being a roo.

Thinking those look like sickle feathers? Tail feathers of above.

 

[donrae]

If I were going to peg any of them as roosters, it would be the first bird, with all that white on the chest. That's often a rooster coloring. But, nothing else about the bird says rooster at all. At this age you'd know by comb if you had a male, so I'm thinking all females.

 

[Basskids08]

X2, and also the chances of these being siblings is slim considering they hatch thousands a day of each breed!

 

[Anuthatch]

Thank you both. 2 of the birds have alot of white on them which I had read is rooster markings but I don't see any other signs from those 2 birds. The first and third photo birds have alot of white on their chests. All of them have about the same size and color of waddles & combs. One is a little more red than the others but not bright red. All of their legs and feet are about the same size, too.

They are just fun so I don't really care what they are as long as they aren't mean. But of course I'm dying to know if they are hens.

 

[Anuthatch]

I love your quotes. Life after 40 is AWESOME! I'm 50 now and not trading this life for 30.

 

[Blooie]

I think these photos of my pullet and roo might help. He was very obviously a roo, even very young. I posted the top photo on another thread but I had the ages incorrect - I said 8 weeks but looking at the date stamp on the file I see that they were actually younger than that - they were actually 6 weeks. Sorry for the confusion if you've seen the other thread. Anyway, even at that age it was easy to tell which was which by the comb size and the body shape. She was more elongated, he was short and dumpy - like me. She has always had much more white on her chest. So based on what I see in my own birds, I would be willing to bet you have pullets.


At 6 weeks the differences were pronounced - even to my untrained eye. Roo on the left, pullet on the right.


Here they are at about 18 weeks, same positions as in the first photo. Sorry his head is blurry - he spotted a fly or a bee or something flying in front of him. <sigh>


And here he is in all his glory, again at 18 weeks.

 

[Anuthatch]

OH, yes, it is very easy to see difference - thank you. Are you keeping your roo? He's handsome and I'm guessing will get more handsome with age. Mine have had different body shapes among the 4 of them but their heads have always been about the same features. I've been trying to study their feathers to see if any are pointed or round but they don't look that different to me either. My husband keeps telling me at this age I would KNOW if one was a rooster but what does he know?....LOL Sounds like he's right.

 

[Blooie]

OH, yes, it is very easy to see difference - thank you. Are you keeping your roo? He's handsome and I'm guessing will get more handsome with age. Mine have had different body shapes among the 4 of them but their heads have always been about the same features. I've been trying to study their feathers to see if any are pointed or round but they don't look that different to me either. My husband keeps telling me at this age I would KNOW if one was a rooster but what does he know?....LOL Sounds like he's right.

Don't you hate it when that happens?

Edited to add: I don't think we will be keeping him. He is a handsome little devil, and very friendly too. But we just aren't in the position to keep roos. The other two roos, a Production Red and a Red Sex Link, have already gone to freezer camp, but I'd rather rehome this one. He's so gorgeous and does such a good job as keeper of the flock.