Golden Sex Link - Pullet or Cockerel? *UPDATED 4/28/14 - PLEASE RING IN*

Hey everyone!!

This is my first post to the forum & I just want to say how excited I am!!! I had chickens growing up in the 90s, but then I grew up, moved away for college, started my career, got married, had a son & now I'm back to chickens! I'm so glad to have such a wonderful resource for my backyard chicken experience this time around & I'm looking forward to watching our 4 little chicks grow!

So, here's the story... we bought 4, day old chicks from the local feed store & were told that they were "sexed" but that obviously there was still a small chance of getting a male. The breeds we selected were Barred Rock, Ameraucana, Silver Laced Wyandotte, & a Red Star. I thought for sure we'd be selecting a female out of the Red Star box because they're SEX-LINKED after all!!!!!! Right? Well, IDK... I think my son may have chosen the only rooster in the box...? She/He's red, but not that red... .not red compared to some of the photos I"m seeing online of the little Red Star pullets. Ugh!!

I'm going to attach a few photos & I welcome anyone to chime in on whether they think the light colored baby is a male or female Red Star.

Thanks!!

Amanda =)

Red Star sex link pullet chicks are buff, or, red. The cockerels are white.

The light colored chick doesn't seem to fit the description for any Red Star color. Wrong breed in the wrong bin?

and at two weeks you can tell by the roos have short tails and wings..pullets have long tail feathers and wing feathers..

Oh this is actually wonderful news!!

I was also wondering if the light colored one was indeed a Golden Buff/Red Star/Golden Sex-Link because she just doesn't seem to fit the "normal" bill.

All of these babies have very long wing feathers & the cutest little tail nubs that look like they're going to shoot out any second! So, according to that we're good all the way around!!

Those pics were from last week... I'll have to update again & see if we can get this pegged!

Thank you for your responses,
Amanda

Photo update!!

These little munchkins are a week old today! They've been named Pineapple (the "Red Sex-Link"), Penny (the Ameraucana), Miss Marbles (the Silver Laced Wyandotte), & Hattie (the Barred Rock).

You can see a lot more of a reddish, rusty color on Pineapple now... I do indeed think she may be a Red Sex-Link pullet.... BUT we shall see!!!!!

Feathering out mostly white, with red splashes/spots/speckles (really difficult to see in photos) on "HER" wing feathers?

Age in photos approximately 2.5 weeks.

Pullets

Yet another update! Birds are 3 weeks old now & Pineapple sure does look like a roo to me!!

MandaMunky said:

Yet another update! Birds are 3 weeks old now & Pineapple sure does look like a roo to me!!

Click to expand...

Yep, he's definitely a little cockerel from the comb and wattles. But what a cutie! From the earliest pictures of him, I would have guessed a pullet with just a lot of white in "her" feathers, because of the red body color . Depending on the local feed store, he could be a Tetra Tint (mixbreed that TSC sells), or maybe a second generation cross of sex linked chickens (second and above generations will not be sex linked), or just an off color male. Who knows what feed stores sell their chicks as... Now that he has stocky legs, a big comb at such a young age, and white he should be a rooster.

@Veer67 Thanks for your input... I definitely agree with you & appreciate your input. Now just the dilemma of what to do? I think my hubby & I have decided that we will keep him until he gives us a reason not to. He's still friendly... I hope with a lot of handling & positive human interaction that he will stay that way! From what I've heard it's completely possible to have a nice rooster. Fingers crossed that this is true for us...

PS - the local feed store supposedly buys pullets from Belt Hatchery in Fresno, CA.