Hen or Rooster

[bigblueteach]

New to chickens. Pretty sure they are all pullets but this one in the middle is a little bigger than the others and always been the boss. Let me know what you think

 

[Jener8or]

Do you know what breed the questionable blue one is and how old they are?

 

[nuthatched]

Which bird ate you taking about? How old are they?

 

[bigblueteach]

Do you know what breed the questionable blue one is and how old they are?

Sapphire Gem. Around 9 weeks old

 

[bigblueteach]

Which bird ate you taking about? How old are they?

The gray one at the front. 9 weeks old

 

[nuthatched]

The gray one at the front. 9 weeks old

Ok, so that one is very suspicious, I would say likely cockerel but I'd wait another week for certain

 

[Jener8or]

Sapphire Gem. Around 9 weeks old

Sapphire Gems are sex-link breed so the cockerels should have barring. The evenness in the feather coloration is consistent with a pullet as well as the dark legs, so I think there's a good chance it's a faster-developing female.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

That’s a pullet, since she’s not barred.

 

[bigblueteach]

Sapphire Gems are sex-link breed so the cockerels should have barring. The evenness in the feather coloration is consistent with a pullet as well as the dark legs, so I think there's a good chance it's a faster-developing female.

Can you elaborate on sex link and barring

 

[Jener8or]

Can you elaborate on sex link and barring

Yes. Sex links are hybrid chickens where they cross a barred hen with a solid (in this case blue) rooster. The results are barred males and solid colored females. At hatch, you can tell them apart by a white spot on their head (the cockerels will have a white spot that correlates with barring.)

Sex-links won't breed true (you can't breed two Sapphire Gems to create other sex-linked Sapphire Gems.)