fighting?

[archil]

I have two three week old chicks and i know its too early to tell what gender they are by looking just yet, but does their behaviour show what gender they might be yet?
I often find them jumping on eachother and it looks like they're fighting or trying to assert themselves, is this characteristic of roos only or do hens do it too?
Theres not so much pecking but a lot of jumping and flapping at eachother

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Very common for young chicks to do this. I don't think it shows gender. If anything, I think the pullets are more interested in establishing a pecking order and can sometimes seem a bit aggressive while young cockerels are often quite sweet.

 

[archil]

Thanks, that's actually quite reassuring. I guess i'm worrying about it a lot because I live in a sub-urban area and if they're roos I'll have to get rid of them which I really don't want to do.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Howdy again. Had a little bout of insomnia last night so tried to see if I could be useful in the unanswered post section. At least give you a bump!

One of our 10 sexed pullets was a cockerel and we found him a new home. Legally, we're okay for roos, but many neighbors close by, and boy was he loud! Started in at 4am with updates on the half hour. We were pretty sleep-deprived for a while. Faster comb and wattle development is generally the first indication that you have cockerels. How old are they? If you post pics, there are some folks pretty good at determining sex early on.

By the way, your avatar is oddly disturbing.

 

[Smoochie]

Sorry to be off topic but your avatar is the funniest one I have seen yet! ToastBob!!

 

[jbarrett]

usually this does not show sex yet, they are just curious and are playing around like pups with each other!

 

[archil]

they're only about three weeks old, and most people are telling me that thats still a bit young to tell. But if anyone wants to try I can post some more pics in a couple of days.

I Thought I'd add a bit of excitement to the board by switching up the usual chicken/child/pet avatar for a piece of bread with a face
it's always good to have a bit of variety