Early guesses? 3 week old polish sexing

[Chickmomz]

First time chicken owners and we are loving our 4 Polish chicks. Anyone want to take a guess at their sex? I have attached photos at 1 week (ish) and 3 weeks (ish). I also commit to coming back to update when we know for sure if they are Roos or Hens.

 

[Goats N Cluckers]

Peaches and Rhubarb look to be pullets. Squash and Pickles are harder to tell from the photo angles but their crest shapes look to me like they could be cockerels. Straight profiles and photos looking down on the tops of their heads make it easier.

Disclaimer: I'm in no way an expert, just making partially-educated guesses.

 

[BastyPutt]

Hey there!

Welcome to the polish life! There is no chicken breed on the face of the earth with a better temperament, or that is more social. We absolutely love our polishes here and it looks like you have some really nice birds there! Buff laced and white crested black are my favorites.

In terms of sexing, you are kind of in the dead zone - you need the crests to develop just a bit more. If I am able to see the birds in person and get some real close ups of crest shape and feathers, the odds of this go way up.

However, I will still take a shot here based on what I can see.

Peaches - cockerel (not certain)
Squash - cockerel (this one Id bet the farm on)
Pickles - pullet
Rhubarb - pullet (this one I am also pretty certain)

If you are able to get some more shots of peaches and pickles I maybe able to discern a little better.

 

[BastyPutt]

4 hens or less/rooster = over breeding.
10 hens or more/rooster = not all eggs will be fertile.

I can't remember specifically the square footage/chicken. I think i remember @JedJackson having some good insight on this recently.

 

[JedJackson]

I really can't tell at that age. Maybe @BastyPutt can help you out.

 

[BastyPutt]

if personality matters at all:

If you notice one that seems to be not very intelligent. That is a cockerel

No, I haven't noticed this like you think you would. Pullets are very bossy within their group, but passive the rest of the time.

Polish roosters are VERY reproductive minded. It seems to be their entire life focus.

Pickles (white crested black) and Peaches (buff laced)

Pickles is actually going to be a "splash". White crested black is a black bird with a white crest. I am going to also be changing my call on pickles to cockerel and sticking with peaches as a cockerel as well.

Final answers for how - Rhubarb = pullet and the rest cockerels.

 

[Chickmomz]

If you notice one that seems to be not very intelligent. That is a cockerel

No, I haven't noticed this like you think you would. Pullets are very bossy within their group, but passive the rest of the time.

Polish roosters are VERY reproductive minded. It seems to be their entire life focus.

Pickles is actually going to be a "splash". White crested black is a black bird with a white crest. I am going to also be changing my call on pickles to cockerel and sticking with peaches as a cockerel as well.

Final answers for how - Rhubarb = pullet and the rest cockerels.

Thanks for the “Splash” I had no idea what to call them. I appreciate the info and guesses so much! I’d say that is what we had guessed as well, we will hold out hope that we may be surprised with more turning out to be pullets. Stay tuned to find out!

 

[MrsMeanGreen]

Loving the pictures of your babies

 

[JedJackson]

4 hens or less/rooster = over breeding.
10 hens or more/rooster = not all eggs will be fertile.

I can't remember specifically the square footage/chicken. I think i remember @JedJackson having some good insight on this recently.

The bare minimum is 4 square feet of coop space and 8 square feet of run space per large fowl chicken. The more you can provide, the happier they will be. Birds with plenty of space are less likely to fight and less likely to feather pluck.

Personality makes a big difference with how many females are needed per rooster. I had, at one point, a very skittish Polish rooster and 5 Polish hens. Well, he was picked on by four of them and never fought to establish dominance with them. As a result, I had him with just the one hen, and it worked just fine. Some of his sons, though, were more confident and needed more hens. I think 5 to 7 per male is optimal for fertility with an active Polish rooster, but it's a trial and error thing.

 

[Chickmomz]

Great example of why breed stereotypes or expectations are always off.

Start somewhere, and adjust as needed.

@JedJackson thank you both for your insight! I will likely post more photos along the way