When Do Chicks' Combs Start to Develop?

[wsdareme]

My chicks are 3 weeks old tomorrow. I ordered 12 pullets from MPC in a variety of brown egg layers (and one EE). I've been trying to tell if I have any roos. I have read posts talking about leg size and color, and overall size. I have noticed that some of them have already started to get their combs. Does early comb development have any indication of sex? I'm really hoping I don't have any roos, but I do understand that sexing is not 100%. Is 3 weeks still too early to determine if any are roos?

 

[drunkdog]

I am not sure bout all breeds, I have black australorps and the marked male i purchased has a comb twice as big as any of the pullets at 2 weeks

 

[wsdareme]

I suppose what's going to make it even harder is that most are not the same breeds. I have 3 Cochins and 2 Wyandottes, so I guess I could compare those (if I can figure out which two are the Wyandottes). I also have an Australorp, Buff Orpington, Easter Egger (it is the biggest of the bunch), Dominique, Delaware, Barred Plymouth Rock, and a Silver Cuckoo Marans.

I guess time will tell!

 

[drunkdog]

I really think the reason I can tell our roo from the pullets even at two weeks is the yellow dye in his fuzz from the hatchery

....but it is twice the size of the rest of the chicks and slightly pink. we try to handle them daily and examine and hold each breifly passing them between two adults so maybe were being over critical and seeing things that dont exist due to overexposure to BYC forums?

 

[NatJ]

Most hatcheries guarantee 90% accuracy for sexing.

From Tractor Supply Co your chance of getting a rooster will be higher--they seem to have trouble keeping the right labels with the right chicks. So even if the hatchery sexed them correctly, you might come home with something different than what you paid for

It must be hard for the people working there--so many kinds of chicks do look alike. And there's no label on the chick itself, to let you sort them out again. But it is very frustrating for the people who buy mis-labelled chicks!

 

[Choco Maran]

No I think that is about right. Not sure though. Some one else may know more than I . I have three week old chicks right now also and I have notice a few have very tiny little combs. No big ones. I hopeing to have no roos all so. I have too many right now. I will be intrested to found out all so.

 

[gryeyes]

It's too early for most folks, not the eagle-eyed, breed specific WonderKinds of BYC, though. (I am not one of 'em.)

 

[PaintedDreams]

I have 5 chicks hatched on our farm 3 weeks ago. I took a close look at them tonight and noticed that 2 of them have bigger combs than the other 3. I have only had chickens for a year, but we started with 6 chicks and by 3 weeks I had guessed that 3 of them were roos and I was right. I am no expert but I'm pretty sure I have 2 roos this time.

 

[felidaet]

Three weeks is too young to tell for sure for many breeds. Two of this years chicks are White Leghorns. By the third week one of the was obviously a rooster. His comb was growing daily and was much larger than the other White Leghorn. It was also bright pink. Usually pullets will have a yellow comb until they get a lot older (I believe close to laying age). Roosters combs may start turning pink at a very early age. I have a RIR and a Maren that I also think are roosters but I am not absolutely certain.

Sometimes you don't know for sure the sex of a chicken until it starts to crow or lays an egg.

 

[Jody]

I have three pullets over 2mos old and their combs just started coming in about a week ago.