How reliable is behavior for prediction of gender? Pic included also.

[debid]

I have 10 "sexed pullets" but I know it's not 100%. There is an age range but I believe this chick is 2 weeks old. Still pretty young to tell anything by appearances but I'll include a photo anyway. She runs to the hand when I put it in and has done so from the day I brought her home. I've seen her jumping onto the other chick's backs while they're standing (she's the only one in the group that does that). She has a rose comb that is mostly flat but has a couple of tiny bumps at the top.

Here is a picture of Delilah the Dominique so you can see her stance, sticky up tail, and the width of the comb:

Oh, and the kids made me promise that if one of the chicks ends up being a rooster, we'd name him Sylvester McMonkey McBean so I'm scared for pretty little Delilah

 

[LittleLady98]

Ummmm... I think you might have a "Sylvester McMonkey McBean" on your hands...

At least from my experience, my BR acted the most "manly" of the four chicks. And ended up being a roo.

 

[debid]

I did some reading before I posted but it only confused me more. She does have a white spot on her head. She also has black down the front of her legs and on the top of her feet. These things were identified as female characteristics. But the stance?

 

[greenSearcher]

Could also be a dominant hen. Must admit, I lean towards roo. I usually get my '10%' of boy when I order. If it is a male the barring should be lighter than the girls.

 

[debid]

I'm sure it would be easier if I had a box full of them to compare but with only one barred bird, light vs. dark is rather subjective. I also know it's much too early to call, just hoped someone who breeds them might chime in.

 

[Celtic Chick]

I have 2 buff orpington & 2 black australorp chicks, and by one of the buffs behavior, you'd almost swear she was a roo, but she is almost 7 weeks now & still looks like a pullet. She is just a bully. She bumps chests, launches across the cage feet first at the others, jumps on their backs. And she is the boldest one of them as far as people go also. She will jump right onto your hand as soon as you put your hand in there.
I've read alot of posts lately from other people saying they had bully pullets this season.

 

[CCourson05]

Here is a good link given to me by a very trusted person:

http://www.dominiquechicken.com/Sexing_Dominique_chicks.html

 

[debid]

Quote:
This is actually the site I found when I did my search

It's good but it doesn't have a wing shot to show me what "light" barring looks like vs. "dark" barring. It does show the head dots very well and Delilah's is just like the female on the far right -- a bit ambiguous. She's feathering at the same pace as the EE pullets which makes me hopeful that she's just a tall and outgoing girl.

We can keep a rooster where we live (heck, I drive by a house that has more than a dozen in the yard with little barrel huts) so Delilah has a home whether she has a name change or not.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Behavior and stance of chicks and young birds who are nowhere near sexually mature are absolutely NO indication of gender. It MAY be an indication of the place in the pecking order they will achieve, but that is about all.