7.5 week old Sussex has me stumped

[Morrigan]

I had grown pretty confident in my ability to tell the sex of chick by 5 weeks, but this 7.5 week old speckled sussex has me scratching my head.

Starting at about 4.5 weeks I was 100% sure it was a cockerel. It sprouted a pink comb and wattles, upright stance, thick legs, slow feathering tail, lots of white, the works. But over the last 3 weeks, the comb and wattles have not grown much or deepened to red. As the sussex has gotten bigger, the comb has looked less prominent, almost like its grown into it. In contrast, it's hatch mate (a partridge olive egger from MPC) has raced past the sussex in comb development and now looks very much the cockerel. I'm now starting to second guess myself. As I looked over some pictures I had of other sussex chicks who I know turned out to be pullets, I did note that they seemed, in general to have thicker legs than other breeds, as well as a more well, "cocky" attitude.

I will update when I get to either a crow or an egg, but I thought it would be fun to play the guessing game.

Here are a couple of solo shots, followed by one of it standing next to its hatch-mates --the olive egger cockerel, and a second olive egger who I'm fairly sure is a pullet.

 

[Tookie]

Pretty sure it's a cockerel.

 

[Morrigan]

That's still my best guess as well. But, I'm at 80% sure now, versus 100% sure.

 

[Mattl12]

Rooster. I had 4 sussex hens their combs and waddles were not that big till they were near laying age.

 

[Painted Calls]

I'm on the fence.

Post updated pics in a couple more weeks.

 

[Morrigan]

Post updated pics in a couple more weeks.

Will do.

Pinkie swear. I hate when these kind of posts never update.

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

I vote cockerel!

 

[Morrigan]

Either way, its going to be interesting to me. Usually, once those little guys first start sporting a little pink comb, that comb sprouts up like a weed and screams cockerel within a week or two.

 

[Morrigan]

OK, the little sussex with be 9 weeks old tomorrow. The pink, sizable wattles still have me thinking it's a cockerel. But it's outlier, in least in my experience, in terms of how slow it's coming in. I've never had one leave me in suspense this long -- usually the little guys are screamingly obvious cockerels by this point. On the other hand, if its a pullet, it's quite unusually well developed in the wattles and comb for this age. I've had one other girl -- a lavender orpington who developed early, hanging pink jowls at 7 weeks, so I'm still not ready to make a 100% cockerel call. Maybe next week? Will keep updating.

First picture is the sussex with two of its hatch-mates -- a mr. obvious cockerel and a pullet -- along with mama hen who is still mothering them at 9 weeks. Second, it alone.

 

[Morrigan]

It's been hard to get a really good picture. Mama hen is still very protective and hustles them away when she sees me coming.