Black Australorp & Silver-Laced Wyandottes - hens or roosters?

[fl-chicken-tender]

Hi there,

My chicks are six weeks old and finally out of my house! They're feathering out and starting to look like real chickens instead of half-baked muppets.

Some of them are starting to develop combs and wattles, and I'm a bit concerned about my SLWs in particular - is it normal for their combs to come in red this early, or do I have 3 surprise roosters on my hands? The attached pictures are three different birds, all named Bubba. I numbered them to help tell them apart.

We also have one Black Australorp who has a bigger comb than our other two 'lorps and wattles under its beak. We did order one rooster of this breed, so I'm hoping this is Gomez, the one roo we wanted.

Thank you so much for answering all my questions! This is my first time with chicks, and I appreciate your advice & support.

 

[Silviaschicks]

4 is a roo, and I believe 3 is as well. 1 and 2 may be pullets but I'm not fully sure about 2. Do you have a side photo of 3?

 

[3KillerBs]

and I'm a bit concerned about my SLWs in particular - is it normal for their combs to come in red this early, or do I have 3 surprise roosters on my hands?

Yes, actually, it is VERY common for Wyandotte pullets to pink up early and frighten their owners into thinking that they're cockerels.

At their next molt any actual males *might* begin to show their sex-specific feathering -- particularly the white wing bows. Or they might not show up quite yet. Or you could have one like my Piccata, a pullet with poor-quality lacing that mimicked a male's wing bow (she ended up laying eggs, not crowing).

Wyandottes are notoriously deceptive and frustrating this way.

We also have one Black Australorp who has a bigger comb than our other two 'lorps and wattles under its beak. We did order one rooster of this breed, so I'm hoping this is Gomez, the one roo we wanted.

He does indeed look like a male. When did his comb show up? Many of my Australorp boys are clearly male at 3-4 weeks.

 

[fl-chicken-tender]

Yes, actually, it is VERY common for Wyandotte pullets to pink up early and frighten their owners into thinking that they're cockerels.

At their next molt any actual males *might* begin to show their sex-specific feathering -- particularly the white wing bows. Or they might not show up quite yet. Or you could have one like my Piccata, a pullet with poor-quality lacing that mimicked a male's wing bow (she ended up laying eggs, not crowing).

Wyandottes are notoriously deceptive and frustrating this way.



He does indeed look like a male. When did his comb show up? Many of my Australorp boys are clearly male at 3-4 weeks.

Thank you!! This makes me feel a lot better about the SLWs I'll post more pics in a couple weeks, when their adult feathers start to come in.

I started to notice a difference between my Australorps about a week ago, around week 5. We lost one of our Australorp chicks the day they arrived home and I had been worried that was our rooster. I'm happy that we have at least one!

 

[fl-chicken-tender]

4 is a roo, and I believe 3 is as well. 1 and 2 may be pullets but I'm not fully sure about 2. Do you have a side photo of 3?

Thank you! I'll post pics tomorrow, if I can figure out which bird is which
Might need to invest in a couple leg bands.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you! I'll post pics tomorrow, if I can figure out which bird is which
Might need to invest in a couple leg bands.

Try zipties.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/leg-banding-with-zipties.68075/

But remember to cut them off and replace them as the bird grows.

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

All pullets except #4!

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

All but 4 are pullets so far. My silver laced wyandotte had me thinking she was a cockeral. Please post pictures when they reach 6-8 weeks old and we could probably confirm if they are pullets. I didnt know with mine until she was 11 weeks old. Here is a picture of her at a little over 4 weeks old for comparison.

 

[sourland]

'For now' the Wyandottes look like pullets. The Australorp is likely a cockerel.

 

[fl-chicken-tender]

Try zipties.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/leg-banding-with-zipties.68075/

But remember to cut them off and replace them as the bird grows.

Thank you, that's genius! I did that this afternoon.