Cinn Queen roo or early-developing pullet?

[SkyBlueJar]

Edit: Cackle solves the mystery! Post on page 2



They're 20 days old today. We have 16 chicks (ordered 15 and Cackle Hatchery added an extra).

Of all the chicks, only this one suddenly has red in its comb and wattles (all the other chicks have the small yellow comb seen on the left-hand chick.) Color-wise, the sexlink cockerels are bright white, aren't they? I'd say all of our day-old chicks looked pretty much the same although some did have more brown coloring than others. This one is on the lighter side.

So, the chick on the right - is it a faster-developing pullet? Could it be a roo? (I wondered if it might be a mystery breed but I emailed Cackle and they said if I ordered CQ's then the extra chick would be a CQ also. But they didn't say which gender it is!)





Just in case it might be helpful - here's a photo of everyone in the box at 2 days old:

 

[MuckyPuppy]

Looks like a cockerel to me. Hopefully others will give their guess.

 

[ChicCrazyInNC]

It's a rooster, and the extra chick you got, more than likely. The pic of them at two days old shows a yellow chick in the bottom right corner, the pullets are the buff colors and your one male is yellow. Pretty sure I'm right, hopefully you get more opinions

 

[SkyBlueJar]

It really does look like a rooster, doesn't it? I'm trying to get a better look at the day-old chick in the box corner (pics below). Looks like it has a touch of color on its head and two "racing stripes" down its back. I'm fairly certain none of the chicks were completely white. So it's a mystery...

Anybody know at what age CQ's (or other sexlinks) typically get red color in their comb and wattles? I wonder if the other 15 will develop similar color in the next few days...? If not, then it has to be a cockerel... lol!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

If he continues to develop white feathers, then it's a CQ rooster for sure. The chick next to it in the first pic is showing CQ pullet coloring. Also, whoa, look at that comb! Just screams cockerel.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

I believe it's a rooster.

 

[Bill Matthews]

This chicken is a rooster but I can understand why you ask.. If my sight is correct a couple of the others look very light in the box too. Good luck in using all the eggs you'll get..These little girls really know their business and Cackle sells good stock..

 

[SkyBlueJar]

Goodness! I guess the hubby will have to get over his anxiety about eating fertilized eggs, lol. The hatchery emailed me back today and said that the extra chick should be a CQ pullet like all the others. But "she" sure doesn't look like one! It seems strange that they could have made a mistake with sexlink chicks.

The photos in this thread were helpful too https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/749610/are-these-all-sex-links-and-what-sex#post_10584992

At what age will pullets start growing combs/wattles?

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

At what age will pullets start growing combs/wattles?

They'll slowly grow with the rest of the bird. They will remain smaller and pink until a couple of weeks before they begin to lay eggs, at which time they will very suddenly get larger and turn bright red. When you see red combs, make sure you have your nest boxes ready! These ladies will lay eggs early and often.

 

[Jesusfreakmir12]

Looks like a rooster