Cockerel vs. Pullet Behavior

[MountainOrchard]

This is probably a dumb question... But when do roosters start acting like roosters? When they are fully mature? Or can you tell by their behavior as chicks? I have a Buff Orp (8 weeks old) that I suspect of being a cockerel, but not from comb or feathering, just from the way he/she acts. I have 5 Buffs and I can't tell them apart without looking at their leg bands, but I can always pick out this one from the tail and head held high and the proud strutting. When a noise startles them they will all crouch down together but this one stands even taller, often in front of the others. Is this a reliable sign of rooster in development or could it go either way?

 

[chicknmania]

It could go either way, but from stance and behavior you might get a clue. Still, I've been fooled a lot of times...I can't really tell for certain sure til around three or four months. It just depends on the individual though. We had a black chick last winter, he would roost apart from all the others...from about 6 weeks on. I always thought he might be a cockerel, just from that, plus the way he acted, and he is. Still, his brother, I was sure was a pullet...positive...up until about a week ago. And he is four months old. I don't think they're really fully mature til a year...that's why they're called cockerels the first year..but they will start trying to breed the hens around three or four months, as a general rule.

You've heard the saying "you don't know til they crow"...and I think that's pretty much always true.

 

[MountainOrchard]

Thanks! I will keep my eye on this one. It's so fun to watch them change almost daily! Here's a pic of the bird in question.