Gender help !

[Ccdance75]

I am so new to this and I've read a ton. It seems as though females can have waddles, combs and crow. So how can I tell??
I have 8 week olds from a farm that should be all female, one crows and has a red comb and waddle.
I acquired 11 others from my son's class, all hatched from eggs so I have no idea what breed or sex. I'd like to put them together but don't want to mix females and males (do I?) if we only want eggs to eat. I'd like to do this ASAP. How can I tell? Any help would be appreciated. I'm not sure how to do pictures on here but I can try....
Thanks so much!!

 

[fshinggrl]

Any chick that is 8 weeks old and has red comb & wattles is a cockerel. There is no harm in putting them together. IF you collect the eggs daily you can't really tell that they are fertilized. There is no taste difference. Roosters are great if they are good and protect your flock. IF they are aggressive towards you or the hens, it's soup here.

IF you want to post a picture, click the picture icon when you are posting a picture. It is on the 2nd row of icons in the 2nd box. It is a picture of a square with a sun and mountains.

 

[Ccdance75]

thanks for your reply, but i've seen in videos and read (even on this site) that hens can have combs and waddles and even take on the qualities of roosters by crowing and low-no egg production. ill try posting a pic soon of the oldest in question. my others are only 6 weeks old, but since theres only 2 weeks age difference, id like to combine them for cleaning purposes. but I don't want the potential roosters to out number the hens.

 

[Ccdance75]

I guess there really I no waddle....I think im looking into this too much....eeeeek!

 

[fshinggrl]

I guess there really I no waddle....I think im looking into this too much....eeeeek!

That is an Easter Egger Cockerel. Definiately a rooster and a boy. Hens have combs and wattles WHEN they are close to laying age or laying eggs. NOT 6 weeks old. Thanks for posting a picture! That really helps! You should have a ratio of 1 rooster to 10 hens at a minimum. IF you have more roosters, then the hens tend to be mated too often and that often results in feather loss for the hens.

 

[Ccdance75]

SERIOUSLY??? When I bought it from the farm, they assured me a female! How can you tell? what gives it away? Do females NEVER have combs?

 

[keesmom]

It's the color and size of the comb at such a young age that indicates cockerel, as does crowing at that age. Pullets do not crow.

 

[fshinggrl]

SERIOUSLY??? When I bought it from the farm, they assured me a female! How can you tell? what gives it away? Do females NEVER have combs?

Yes. This latest batch of chickens I bought from a hatchery was 8 strong. I bought all pullets. Four died after 2 days and of the remaining 4, two were cockerels. It happens. IF there is a return policy, check on it. IF not, sorry.

Yes, I was going off the HUGELY red comb and wattles. The coloring also is a tell tale of Easter Eggers. GENERALLY they will get the red 'highlights' on the body/wings. Sorry. It does happen. More than we'd like.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news.

 

[Ccdance75]

Thanks veery one for the help. I do have someone coming by tomorrow to take a look at my seven week olds and take what he thinks are roosters. The more I'm reading and watching you tube, the more confused I get about telling the difference. But I'm assuming my seven week olds with comb development are males.

I hate to get rid of my now 10 week old EE. we've had her since day one and she's/he's beautiful.

 

[junebuggena]

His comb is very red, and well developed. He also has dark red on the shoulders and wings. Easter Eggers, male or female, rarely have wattles. Pullets do not start to turn red in the comb until they are close to laying age, usually around 14 to 18 weeks old. Any chick under 10 weeks old with a bright red comb is male.