3 week old "Mutt" Chickens - What gender?

[jmkrusch]

Hi all,

I was wondering if you could help me sex these chicks. We tried our luck hatching chicks this year and ended up with two little ones. The father is a missed breed which includes barred (little bit of bantam, and something else that gives him feathers on the sides of his legs). The mom is unknown - could be one of any number of chicks (note: we do not have any white leghorns though).

That said, here are the two chicks at 3 weeks old. I am pretty sure the first is a hen, but I am worried the second is a roo (praying she isn't though - already have two roos and one isn't that friendly)

1.


Suspected Roo







I am hoping that maybe the mom is just different as she has been slightly larger than the 1st one since hatching. I do note that the feet are also larger than #1.

Thanks for the help!

 

[junebuggena]

Sorry, but a comb that red, at only 3 weeks old is a sure indicator of a cockerel.

 

[AustralorpsAU]

Hi all,

I was wondering if you could help me sex these chicks. We tried our luck hatching chicks this year and ended up with two little ones. The father is a missed breed which includes barred (little bit of bantam, and something else that gives him feathers on the sides of his legs). The mom is unknown - could be one of any number of chicks (note: we do not have any white leghorns though).

That said, here are the two chicks at 3 weeks old. I am pretty sure the first is a hen, but I am worried the second is a roo (praying she isn't though - already have two roos and one isn't that friendly)

1.


Suspected Roo







I am hoping that maybe the mom is just different as she has been slightly larger than the 1st one since hatching. I do note that the feet are also larger than #1.

Thanks for the help!

Sorry to say but the second one, in my opinion is a cockerel!

 

[jmkrusch]

Darn it... That's what I was thinking too - just hoping that maybe one of the mom breeds might have a tendency to be larger with red combs early (because most of our hens do have red combs as adults), or that maybe the bantam from the father had a larger roll on the first hen then the second.

Thanks though,

 

[junebuggena]

Doesn't really matter. Pullets don't start to pink up in the comb until they are getting close to laying age, regardless of the breed or parentage. A 3 week old chick is nowhere near being ready to lay.

 

[jmkrusch]

Huh - learn something new every day

Thanks anyways... Hopefully this guy is friendly and gets along with the other roos otherwise we may have to find a new home for him

 

[kohchicks]

Huh - learn something new every day

Thanks anyways... Hopefully this guy is friendly and gets along with the other roos otherwise we may have to find a new home for him

Not to get your hopes up but I was one of the lucky ones that had suspect combs and wattles early on but still turned out to be a hen. That being said, 3 weeks is still pretty early for combs to get that red. I ended up keeping mine and monitoring her progress. Her face looked like a cockerel but her feathering looked like a hen in the end, and everything evened out eventually.

Not sure if that helped any but Good luck!

 

[Matt H]

Yeah....Number two looks kinda "cocky".

 

[drumstick diva]

cockerel

 

[BaileyMChicks]

The second chick is definitely a cockerel.