Combs and wattles

[ev-chicka]

As we’re all carefully inspecting our chick’s combs and wattles at this time of year with anticipation...I’m wondering what age is average for them to start turning more pink for a pullet vs a cockerel? Does it really depend on breed?

My guess is that cockerels start to show themselves with comb growth and pinking wattles around 3-4 weeks and pullets more like 8+weeks? Is that accurate for most or does your experience prove otherwise? Or should pullets wattles only turn pink close to POL?

 

[azygous]

In my thirteen years or so of chicken keeping, it's been my experience pullets keep their pale combs until point of lay.

Cockerels, for the most part, begin getting pigment in their combs beginning around four weeks. It will first turn deep yellow, then yellow orange, then red orange around six weeks, and will get redder from there.

The exception was a Blue Andelusian cockerel that had a pale pink comb that got a deeper red in extremely tiny increments, until it was unmistakably red around eight weeks. The BA pullet, in contrast, had a yellow comb at around three weeks, but it gradually turned very, very pale pink as the weeks went by.

So, it does depend on the breed, but by six weeks, you should be able to tell if you have a cockerel, especially if you have a pullet of the same breed to compare him to.

 

[ev-chicka]

In my thirteen years or so of chicken keeping, it's been my experience pullets keep their pale combs until point of lay.

Cockerels, for the most part, begin getting pigment in their combs beginning around four weeks. It will first turn deep yellow, then yellow orange, then red orange around six weeks, and will get redder from there.

The exception was a Blue Andelusian cockerel that had a pale pink comb that got a deeper red in extremely tiny increments, until it was unmistakably red around eight weeks. The BA pullet, in contrast, had a yellow comb at around three weeks, but it gradually turned very, very pale pink as the weeks went by.

So, it does depend on the breed, but by six weeks, you should be able to tell if you have a cockerel, especially if you have a pullet of the same breed to compare him to.

Thanks so much!!