How can you tell?

[Country Gal]

I've been reading all the posts about how to tell if your chicken is a rooster or not, and I STILL can't figure it out!

I have Light Brahmas, Buff Orpingtons, and SL Wyandottes (9 of each). I also have my "rare and unusual", which I think is an Araucana. They are about 10 weeks old.

None of them are crowing yet.

I read in one post that roos have tails that stick up, but I think all of my Brahmas stick up (and I really don't want to believe that the hatchery messed up that badly and sent me 9 roosters that should have been 8 hens and 1 rooster).

I also read somewhere that you can tell the difference between the male and female SLW based on their "saddle feathers," but I don't really know which feathers are considered saddle feathers. And again, if I look at the feathers that I THINK are saddle feathers, it looks like my SLW are half and half, again, a major sexing mistake on the hatcheries end since they should have been all female.

Some have their combs and waddles, which are bright red. Do the roosters develop their combs quicker than the females? For example, with my B.O.s, I have one that's comb is red, and the others have combs that are pretty much the same color as their feathers.

I understand that there is an error rate in sexing the chicks when they send them, and I don't have a big problem with that. I'm just curious to figure out what my rooster/hen ratio is, especially within each breed...

Should I try posting some photos? Am I just getting to antsy about it and need to wait a little longer?

Any advice is greatly appreciated...

Thank you!

 

[justusnak]

Hey Country....from the description, sounds like you might have a BO roo, however, pics would help alot. Ohhh, I hope the hatchery didnt make THAT big of a mistake, and sent you half roos!

 

[speckledhen]

On the Buff Orps, if you have one with a pink comb at 10 weeks, it's a boy. I had a Lt. Brahma, sexed as a pullet by Ideal, which was a nice little boy. Around the collar area, the black feathers are pointy like an Elizabethan collar, on the girls, but the boys have this squarish black collar area that runs partway down their backs. Here is a pic of my pair of Lt Brahmas. I hated to sell Bart, formerly known as Bess, because he was the sweetest cockerel ever. This is the cockerel then the pair as younger chicks:

Tails that stick up are not necessarily a clue to having a rooster in all breeds. I did find that to be the case with my Speckled Sussex, but not any others I've had.
If you post pics of the SLW's, we ought to be able to tell you what you have there. There is a difference in the hackles(back of the neck) and saddles (area at the end of the back before the tail).

 

[Country Gal]

Thank you so much!

I will take photos after work today and repost tomorrow...

Thanks!