when can i tell if my chick is a rooster or a hen..

[AlotaBitCountry]

i have 2 straight run barred rocks and im wondering if there is something i can look for that will indicate if they are going to be a rooster or a hen, obviously they are about a month old little chicks or so, but is there something that will start showing first whether or not they are a female or male??

the only thing i can think of is that one of my barred chicks is always jumping on the back of the other 2, i know roosters do this so i wasnt sure if that would be a sign or if its just doing that lol none of my other chicks jump on eachothers back on purpose

 

[AlotaBitCountry]

out of my 3 buffs, one of them has a really red and grown comb and wattles. i got them from the pellet brooder though, so is she just a few days older or maybe got mixed up with the others??? the other 2 girls barely have a comb grown out and its not even pink yet let alone darker pink



this is ruby, the one with the bright red wattles and comb... ^^ shes on the left in the bottom picture.



this is honey, hers is still short and yellow and i didnt even notice and wattles yet

 

[BrittBergh]

Can someone help me with a little info on my Partridge Plymouth Rocks?
What I want to know , mainly , is if the hens have a teal green shimmer to some of their feathers or if that is ONLY the roosters who do.
I have 5 week olds and am trying to get an idea of who my roosters are. I would have to say going by the combs only, I can tell , but I was told not to go just by that.
It is so weird though because their combs are HUGE and SO Red compared to the others, so I just do not see how they wouldn't be roos.
I took some pictures because I see a lot of people on here posting for opinions, but Im not sure they came out well.
You can kind of see how the combs of some are (to me) extremely larger than others.
We do know out White Leghorns are hens, they were not straight run. I can post more pictures if it helps.
Thanks!!

4/19




4/24

Im not expert but HOLY ROOSTERS!!

 

[BrittBergh]

i have 2 straight run barred rocks and im wondering if there is something i can look for that will indicate if they are going to be a rooster or a hen, obviously they are about a month old little chicks or so, but is there something that will start showing first whether or not they are a female or male??

the only thing i can think of is that one of my barred chicks is always jumping on the back of the other 2, i know roosters do this so i wasnt sure if that would be a sign or if its just doing that lol none of my other chicks jump on eachothers back on purpose

Now to the barred rocks. We have several both male and female. The males usually show the barring more pronounced early vs the females looking more speckled than barred for a while. Males have more white on black vs females more black with white (if that makes sense). Right now my babies are 5 weeks and the combs/wattles are JUST growing slightly bigger but by the feather coloring Ive know who was the roosters.

 

[chippysmom327]

I have an Amaricana that is 7 weeks old. she/he is aggresive and we can't tell if it is a hen or rooster.

If it's agressive, eat it. It will only get meaner.

 

[theoldchick]

The cockerel is the furthest from the camera. See how more developed his comb and wattles are?

 

[littlequail21]

you will notice sooner or later, Once he starts crowing it will be clear. am Definitely not a great "hen or rooster" farmer yet, but i can get a 80% Handle on it when they start to show some real comb. You will see it to i promise and then go "Gosh why didnt i see that sooner"

 

[Luvmykiddos]

I learned from these boards that you can tell by the wings. The ladies have a second set of wings, while the cockerels only have one. By second set, I mean that you will see a line up of one set of wings and the ladies will have another line up of extended wings. Does that make sense?

If I'm wrong, I hope someone will correct me, but that's what I've learned on these boards and so far, that has been true for me.

Hope this helps!

*Edited to add: Just browsing through the boards and came across the fact that not all breeds can be feather sexed, so I guess that may or may not be an accurate for the BR.

Didn't want to mislead you or anyone else, so I thought I'd update this.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/331015/what-sex-is-my-barred-rock <--- Here is a post with more details on the BR.

 

[Melissa77]

Can someone help me with a little info on my Partridge Plymouth Rocks?
What I want to know , mainly , is if the hens have a teal green shimmer to some of their feathers or if that is ONLY the roosters who do.
I have 5 week olds and am trying to get an idea of who my roosters are. I would have to say going by the combs only, I can tell , but I was told not to go just by that.
It is so weird though because their combs are HUGE and SO Red compared to the others, so I just do not see how they wouldn't be roos.
I took some pictures because I see a lot of people on here posting for opinions, but Im not sure they came out well.
You can kind of see how the combs of some are (to me) extremely larger than others.
We do know out White Leghorns are hens, they were not straight run. I can post more pictures if it helps.
Thanks!!

4/19




4/24

 

[keesmom]

Can someone help me with a little info on my Partridge Plymouth Rocks?
What I want to know , mainly , is if the hens have a teal green shimmer to some of their feathers or if that is ONLY the roosters who do.
I have 5 week olds and am trying to get an idea of who my roosters are. I would have to say going by the combs only, I can tell , but I was told not to go just by that.
It is so weird though because their combs are HUGE and SO Red compared to the others, so I just do not see how they wouldn't be roos.
I took some pictures because I see a lot of people on here posting for opinions, but Im not sure they came out well.
You can kind of see how the combs of some are (to me) extremely larger than others.
We do know out White Leghorns are hens, they were not straight run. I can post more pictures if it helps.
Thanks!!

4/19




4/24

There is a "Breed and Gender" forum, if you want to post there. But I can tell you that you have a lot of cockerels! A 5 week old pullet would never have such a large red comb as the ones in your last picture.