How will I know if I have a rooster?

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Bokbok

Bokbok

In the Brooder
12 Years
Feb 27, 2007
78
3
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I have been told that even though I ordered all female chicks, there is a good chance that a couple will be male. How will I know which ones are boys? Someone said that they could tell by the feathers, but what feathers should I look for?
 
As they mature...you will notice the combs on top are larger, and the waddles...under the chin are longer. Takes a while....Im not sure of the feather thing...saw it once on TV..."dirtiest jobs" but cant remember. Just watch them grow, and enjoy....you will notice the difference if there is a Roo.
 
Take them into the sun and look for the feather to be shiny, and the tips to be pointed. Hens will be more round. I'm not sure what age they have to be to tell, usually a month or older. Some mature faster, others very slowly. On the dirties jobs that I saw, they were sexing day old chicks by looking at the length of the wing feathers. This method will not work on all breeds, because if I remember correctly, they were breed to be that way, it doesn't happen naturally on all breeds.
 
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Feather sexing can be accurate some of the time. The problem is each breed has different characteristics. Generally the females will develop wing and tail feathers sooner than the males and I am talking about the first week. At about 5 to 6 weeks am many breeds, you will see definate comb development on the roosters. It starts to turn red very young while the females will stay yellow. As they get older around 2-3 months you will see the hackle feathers developing on the males. They will start to get longer and will be more pointed. Then of course there is the Crow. Some little boys just can't wait to let us know who is the king of the coop. With Silkies, all bets are off.
 
Bokbok, keep an eye on the tail feathers, pullets will grow a tail before the cockerals, if you notice all the peeps getting tails except the ones that seem a little bigger and have more in the crop area thats a sure sign.

bigzio
 
Is this a universal thing with the tail feathers? I have 9 golden comets/amber link (not sure which) hens and 2 australorps that are unsexed. Mine are about a week old, and one of my goldens is getting feathers faster and is a naughty little thing! Jumping around, getting stuck in the food dish, very brave! Do you think temperament at this age could help identify sex? She is supposed to be a hen, but I am wondering!
 
I'm new to chicks, but I will tell you that I've been watching for all the "signs" just to see how well they work. I have 8 chicks, but only my 4 cochins were straight run. Cochins are supposed to be one of the breeds you can feather sex. Those 4 are rebels though and determined to not let the "rules" apply to them. The "rule" about the wing feathers would have indicated that I had 2 girls (we'll call them A & B) and two boys (C & D). The tail feathers on A & B came in much faster than C & D's too. But when they were 4 weeks old chick B's comb started getting bigger and red and "she" started getting nice red wattles. A, C, & D's were all still small and yellow. Now they're 6.5 weeks old and chick B's comb and wattles are getting bigger and more red while the other 3 still have nice small yellow combs and no signs of wattles. So now I'm just playing the waiting game, it's fun to watch them each develop and change from day to day and week to week. As of now though I do suspect I have 1 boy and 3 girls (plus my other 5 non-cochin girls).

Good luck with your babies! Know that while some of the signs and rules may help indicate what sex you babies are, none of them are 100% guarantee.
 
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Thanks! I am totally obsessing! I really want at least one of my australorps to be a roo! Its amazing how fast they grow! Everyday they are bigger! Good luck on your bunch!
 
Sexlinks are almost 100% female unless they are snow white. Astrolorps are another story. Like the other poster, watch for signs. Gloria Jean
 
I hatched 6 Arecanas (?) and we noticed one had speckles on its head. My son immediately said "that's a roo" and he was right.
wink.png
 

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