Hens or Roos? Breeds?

[Quacking ducks]

I have 10 chicks that are 3 weeks old. Any ideas what sex and breed? Thanks

#1 Roo?

#2

#3

#4 Roo?

#5

#6 Roo?

#7

#8 Roo?

#9 Roo?

#10

 

[Asha_Gail]

Okay, I'm definitely not an expert on sexing, I usually just wait till mine are fully grown (and even then I'm terrible at it) but I can offer my thoughts! (I am 100% unable to help with breed tho, apologies!)

#1 definitely looks like a rooster to me, especially comparing to the black one behind it (which I'd deem a hen)

#2 seems like a hen to me (especially when referencing #1 to compare)

#3 also seems a hen

#4 honestly can't tell the head-on view makes it hard for me lol although I'd guess hen

#5 seemingly also a hen

#6 definitely seems a roo

#7 also seems a roo but I noticed the other white one has a little waddle starting and 7 doesn't so it could be a hen?

#8 looks like a hen but is it a breed with a naturally small comb?

#9 very unsure about this one but I'll say roo to play it safe.

#10 hen I think!

Again, I am typically terrible at sexing so much so that I never bother with it so please take my guesses with a grain of salt!

 

[NatJ]

I have 10 chicks that are 3 weeks old. Any ideas what sex and breed? Thanks

All of the ones that you label "Roo?" look to me like they probably are males. That is #1, 4, 6, 8, and 9.
Maybe #7 as well.


Where did you get the chicks? That can often help narrow down the list of possible breeds.

My first guess would be backyard mixes, hatched from eggs from your own flock or from someone you know. In that case, likely few or no pure breeds among them. If you know the exact breeds in a flock like that, it is often possible to pick out which parents must go with some of the chicks, while other chicks remain a mystery.

If you bought them from a store in the USA that orders from any of the major hatcheries, I would guess that #8 is a Silver Laced Wyandotte (rose comb), #10 might be a Red Sexlink (also called Red Star, Golden Comet, and various other names.)

You might have a bunch of Barred Rocks or Cuckoo Marans, or maybe some of each, possibly with some Black Sexlinks mixed in. Barred Rocks should have yellow feet, Marans should have white feet and may have a few feathers on the feet. Black Sexlinks often have yellow feet but could sometimes have white feet. White vs. yellow feet can sometimes be hard to tell when they are young, but yellow feet get brighter and more obvious as the chicks get older.

#10 is the right color to be a Red Sexlink pullet (could also be called Red Star or Golden Comet or various other names.)

#9 has the right feather colors to be a Red Sexlink pullet, but that comb looks right for a male. So either that bird is something else, or it's a pullet with an extra-big comb.

I'm not sure about the white ones. Cornish Cross, White Rock, and White Leghorn are three common breeds that have white feathers and single combs. The males of Red Sexlinks are also white with single combs when they are young, although they often show some other colors when they are older. All of those would have clean legs (no feathers on the feet.) White Cochins would also have white feathers and single combs, but they would have feathered feet. The white chicks are busy sitting on their own feet so I can't tell.

 

[C Siena]

Novice here, just 3 years. I think #s 1,4,6, leaning towards cockerel. Unsure about #7 and keep an eye on the comb development in the next couple of weeks. Unsure of #8 but seems bright color.

In our hatch of last year, 15 chicks, 8 were cockerels and 4 had very bright developed combs by 2-3 weeks. We waited to rehome about 14/15 weeks as feathers were male by then.

 

[JedJackson]

1, 6, 7, and 9 are your definite cockerels. A few others like 4 and 8 are suspicious.

1 through 5, maybe cuckoo Marans mixes.

6 and 7 could be anything since there are many white varieties out there. They could even be red sex links crossed to black or blue chickens.

8 is a Wyandotte cross.

9, 10 red sex link mixes.

 

[Quacking ducks]

Okay, I'm definitely not an expert on sexing, I usually just wait till mine are fully grown (and even then I'm terrible at it) but I can offer my thoughts! (I am 100% unable to help with breed tho, apologies!)

#1 definitely looks like a rooster to me, especially comparing to the black one behind it (which I'd deem a hen)

#2 seems like a hen to me (especially when referencing #1 to compare)

#3 also seems a hen

#4 honestly can't tell the head-on view makes it hard for me lol although I'd guess hen

#5 seemingly also a hen

#6 definitely seems a roo

#7 also seems a roo but I noticed the other white one has a little waddle starting and 7 doesn't so it could be a hen?

#8 looks like a hen but is it a breed with a naturally small comb?

#9 very unsure about this one but I'll say roo to play it safe.

#10 hen I think!

Again, I am typically terrible at sexing so much so that I never bother with it so please take my guesses with a grain of salt!

Sorry about #4 it kept moving around that was the best picture I could get.

#8 is a breed with a small comb

 

[Quacking ducks]

All of the ones that you label "Roo?" look to me like they probably are males. That is #1, 4, 6, 8, and 9.
Maybe #7 as well.


Where did you get the chicks? That can often help narrow down the list of possible breeds.

My first guess would be backyard mixes, hatched from eggs from your own flock or from someone you know. In that case, likely few or no pure breeds among them. If you know the exact breeds in a flock like that, it is often possible to pick out which parents must go with some of the chicks, while other chicks remain a mystery.

If you bought them from a store in the USA that orders from any of the major hatcheries, I would guess that #8 is a Silver Laced Wyandotte (rose comb), #10 might be a Red Sexlink (also called Red Star, Golden Comet, and various other names.)

You might have a bunch of Barred Rocks or Cuckoo Marans, or maybe some of each, possibly with some Black Sexlinks mixed in. Barred Rocks should have yellow feet, Marans should have white feet and may have a few feathers on the feet. Black Sexlinks often have yellow feet but could sometimes have white feet. White vs. yellow feet can sometimes be hard to tell when they are young, but yellow feet get brighter and more obvious as the chicks get older.

#10 is the right color to be a Red Sexlink pullet (could also be called Red Star or Golden Comet or various other names.)

#9 has the right feather colors to be a Red Sexlink pullet, but that comb looks right for a male. So either that bird is something else, or it's a pullet with an extra-big comb.

I'm not sure about the white ones. Cornish Cross, White Rock, and White Leghorn are three common breeds that have white feathers and single combs. The males of Red Sexlinks are also white with single combs when they are young, although they often show some other colors when they are older. All of those would have clean legs (no feathers on the feet.) White Cochins would also have white feathers and single combs, but they would have feathered feet. The white chicks are busy sitting on their own feet so I can't tell.

I hatched them myself. I got eggs from a local farm that has probably dozens of different breeds of chickens. i’m not looking for any purebred. I know they’re all mixes. I was just wanting an idea on what they look like.

 

[NatJ]

I hatched them myself.

What color were the eggs?

I got eggs from a local farm that has probably dozens of different breeds of chickens. i’m not looking for any purebred. I know they’re all mixes. I was just wanting an idea on what they look like.

Got it! In that case, since they are probably mixes:

#8 has a rose comb. That means at least one parent with a rose or walnut comb. Given the color of the chick, I would guess that one parent is a Silver Laced Wyandotte. The chick may grow up to look like a Silver Laced Wyandotte, but since it's probably a cross, it will most likely will have messy sort-of lacing instead.

For the others, I would guess there is a lot of Barred Rock or Cuckoo Marans ancestry. A rooster of either of those breeds, mixed with hens of other breeds, would give a lot of chicks that are black with white barring (chicks #1-5).

#9 and #10 are likely to have a Red Sexlink for one of their parents (also called Red Star, Golden Comet, and various other names.) They might have a Rode Island Red as their other parent, although some other breeds are also possibilities.

For #6 and #7 (white chicks), a cross of Red Sexlink with Barred Rock or Cuckoo Marans could produce some white chicks. Or a cross of White Leghorn with almost any other breed can produce white chicks, too. Depending on what breeds are actually involved, those chick may develop some leakage of red or yellow shades as they grow up, or they may not.

 

[Quacking ducks]

What color were the eggs?


Got it! In that case, since they are probably mixes:

#8 has a rose comb. That means at least one parent with a rose or walnut comb. Given the color of the chick, I would guess that one parent is a Silver Laced Wyandotte. The chick may grow up to look like a Silver Laced Wyandotte, but since it's probably a cross, it will most likely will have messy sort-of lacing instead.

For the others, I would guess there is a lot of Barred Rock or Cuckoo Marans ancestry. A rooster of either of those breeds, mixed with hens of other breeds, would give a lot of chicks that are black with white barring (chicks #1-5).

#9 and #10 are likely to have a Red Sexlink for one of their parents (also called Red Star, Golden Comet, and various other names.) They might have a Rode Island Red as their other parent, although some other breeds are also possibilities.

For #6 and #7 (white chicks), a cross of Red Sexlink with Barred Rock or Cuckoo Marans could produce some white chicks. Or a cross of White Leghorn with almost any other breed can produce white chicks, too. Depending on what breeds are actually involved, those chick may develop some leakage of red or yellow shades as they grow up, or they may not.

Here are the egg colors that I had from the batch of chicks. only 14 of the 22 hatched.

 

[NatJ]

View attachment 4319670
Here are the egg colors that I had from the batch of chicks. only 14 of the 22 hatched.

The blue/green eggs would have come from hens that lay those colors (Easter Eggers or Cream Legbars or Ameraucanas or something like that.) Did either of them hatch? I didn't notice any chicks that would obviously be one of those kinds, but that could just mean that they didn't pass on the traits that are easiest to recognize.

The white eggs could have come from Leghorns or from a few other breeds. If they hatched, I would guess the white chicks came from them. If they didn't hatch, then obviously the white chicks came from somewhere else.

(I'm guessing you might have noticed what color eggshells did or did not hatch, but that you probably did not see which chick came from which eggshell.)

Given what shades of brown the rest of the eggs are, I don't think there are Marans hens as mothers of your chicks (possible chance for the darkest few eggs).

I'm thinking the flock might mostly have breeds that are fairly common, such as Barred Rocks and Red Sexlinks and some Wyandottes and maybe Rhode Island Reds and other breeds. Roosters could be anything, but given the colors of so many chicks, I'm guessing there is one rooster that is either Barred Rock or Cuckoo Marans and one rooster that is something else.

Brown eggs usually come from dual-purpose chicken breeds, so that is the body shape your chicks are most likely to have when they grow up.