First time chicken owner, need help sexing

[Jennj91]

I bought 6 chicks from tractor supply 4/21 and I'm having a difficult time sexing the bantams. I believe the red one is a Cochin but not positive, and the other is a silver laced polish crest.

 

[Ruthster55]

The Cochin is a cockerel. Dunno about the Polish but it’s super-cute.

 

[black_cat]

The cochin is a cockerel. I don't know much about polishes, but from what I can see, the face of the polish says pullet, but the hackle and saddle feathers are looking suspiciously pointy...I guess we'll have to wait to find out!

 

[Oncoming Storm]

Compared to my polish and what I’ve seen of the breed, the polish is a cockerel. Hens have rounded crest feathers and roosters have pointed crest feathers. Here’s one of a polish hen I had for visual reference.

 

[Oncoming Storm]

Just of the crest lol

 

[Jennj91]

I was afraid of that. We had already gotten a Delaware cockerel in the same 6 chicks and we were hoping the rest were all pullets.

 

[Jennj91]

It seems like we most likely got 5 cockerels and 1 pullet as the other 2 chicks I don't remember the breed of have really red combs and wattles also just not at big as the Delaware's or Cochin

 

[black_cat]

Tractor supply is notorious for inaccurate sexing and breed labeling, so generally hatcheries are the way to go.

 

[Jennj91]

We knew there was a possibility of getting males since they were straight run but we were hoping we'd get more than one female out of the 6 lol

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

Tractor supply is notorious for inaccurate sexing and breed labeling, so generally hatcheries are the way to go.

Very true. My first batch of chicks from TSC was 8 hens, 1 cockerel. Second from a hatchery. 3rd, from TSC, 4 straight-run bantams, 2 were cockerels, one pullet was standard-sized. A relative got 1 cockerel and seven hens from TSC. My batch from a hatchery was all hens.

My theory is that Hoover's Hatchery, where most TSCs get their chicks, will refund if you get an accidental cockerel, but if they ship to TSC, accidental cockerels aren't their problem, and therefore they are less careful with sexing. Not sure if this is true, but it is a possibility.