Ameraucanas: roo or pullet?

I'm pretty sure it's just the crappy cell phone washing out the leg color. Will double check anyways, you guys are making me paranoid.
wink.png
Too sick to mess with them today, but I hope to take a look tomorrow.


Kind of dissapointed though. I was hoping Rocket (the dark blue? or is it black?) was a roo. Him being a her messes up my plan completely.
 
Comb size isn't the only gender indicater so a thought I'd compile a list of signs of a roo.

Depending on the breed you should be able to see signs at around one to two weeks as males will have wider legs, develop combs and wattles faster and the comb will be much wider than the females at the base.
Some roosters dominate the females from an early age so look for signs of more boisterous chicks.
At around 18 weeks in hatchery stock (longer in heritage birds) you should start hearing attempted crows and seeing efforts to mount the pullets.
Roo's combs also get redder faster than hens.
Roo's feather slower than pullets and in different areas - pullets develop feathers in their wings first.
 
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Comb size isn't the only gender indicater so a thought I'd compile a list of signs of a roo.

Depending on the breed you should be able to see signs at around one to two weeks as males will have wider legs, develop combs and wattles faster and the comb will be much wider than the females at the base.
Some roosters dominate the females from an early age so look for signs of more boisterous chicks.
At around 18 weeks in hatchery stock (longer in heritage birds) you should start hearing attempted crows and seeing efforts to mount the pullets.
Roo's combs also get redder faster than hens.
Roo's feather slower than pullets and in different areas - pullets develop feathers in their wings first.

This is why we are so confused about Rocket in particular. She feathered slowly like the other males and initially seemed like her comb and other physical traits were on par with the other boys. It's only now that the other males have become so blatantly male that we doubted our original assessment.

Heck, as a beginner, I found it easy to sex my non autosexing breeds...with the exception of the Ameraucanas. I like their personalities, and may consider keeping some around, but the months of uncertainty sucks!
 

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