2. Physical Characteristics (4-6 weeks of age)
a. Comb The cockerels comb is medium size and pinkish, the pullets is small and yellowish.
b. Legs The cockerels legs are sturdy and long, the pullets are finer and shorter.
c. Tail The cockerels tail is stumpy and curved, the pullets is longer and straight.
d. Back The cockerel has a thin line of stub feathers down the center of his back, the pullet has more advanced feathering along the center of her back.
e. Side of neck, flank and crop The feathering in the cockerel in these areas is poorly advanced, the pullets feathering in these areas is well advanced.
f. Wing bows In the cockerel the wing bows are bare, in pullets the wing bows are covered with small feathers.
3. Color-crossed chicks Cross breeding birds of particular colors will result in male chicks having a different color down than female chicks. Here are 4 examples:
a. Mate a gold rooster (Rhode Island Red, Buff Rock, Buff Leghorn) to a hen which is silver (Light Sussex, Light Brahma, Pure White Wyandotte) and the cockerels will have a whitish grey or pale brown down and the pullets will have a reddish-brown or buff down.
b. Mate black red type roosters (Old English, Modern Game, Welsummer) to hens that are silver (Light Sussex, Light Brahma, Pure Rock) the cockerels will be grey with black and grey marking while the pullets will have brown stripes and markings.
c. Mate a non-barred, no stripes on feathers, rooster (Australorp, Black Leghorn, Rode Island Red) with a barred, stripes on feathers, hen (Plymouth Rocks, Cuckoo Leghorns) and the cockerels will have a white spot on the back of their heads and the pullets will have dark brown or black heads.
d. Mate dark legged roosters (Silkies, Minorcas, Campines) to hens with light legs (Sussex, Leghorns, Wyandottes) and the cockerels will have pale legs and the pullets will have dark legs.
