How to tell if my pullet is a rooster?

[katanne555]

My baby chicks are about 4 weeks old. One of them acts much different than the others. She is very bossy, and will come at your hand if you put it in near her. She is also the only one that has started to develop waddles under her beak. I don't mind having a rooster, I just want to be sure to call her a boy and not a girl, if she is one. Are there any ways to tell if she is a rooster or not? Any help would be much appreciated thank you

 

[cafarmgirl]

If you can post a picture we can probably tell you if it's a pullet or roo. Early showing of pink waddles and pinking up of the comb at this age are usually indicators of a roo. Aggressive or pushy behavior can be seen in both roo's and pullets of this age.

 

[realsis]

Post a pic and hopefully we can tell you if its a pullet =(young female ) or a cockerel = (young male)

 

[katanne555]

I took multiple pictures of Tina, the one who i think might be a rooster

her standing up


The back of her head


Not tina, but this is what the other chicks look like


Her feet


Her face





Her waddles

Sorry I took so many picurtes lol I wasnt sure what you look for to tell the differance from a roo or a pullet

 

[Pathfinders]

I generally find I can start to determine gender at or around 12 weeks or so, sometimes earlier. A good way to try to determine males from females is to look for saddle feathers. Hold a bird with the head facing you, looking down on it so you can see its back. When you look at the feathers just in front of the tail, which are called the saddle feathers, are they pointy, or rounded?

Pointy saddle feathers mean it's a male bird, or cockerel. Rounded saddle feathers mean it's a female bird, or pullet. Same thing with hackle feathers.

As well, hackle and saddle feathers of males will be glossier than females, whose feathers will be more dull and less shiny.

Cockerels generally have thicker shanks, bigger redder combs and wattles, and are generally larger and heavier than pullets of the same age.

These photos are of Buckeyes, but should help you in determining gender on young birds of any breed:

 

[katanne555]

I looked at my chicks feathers, and they seem to all be rounded. Most likely Tinas a girl, but it may be easier to tell as she grows up. Thank you for your help

 

[cafarmgirl]

What breed are they? It's not screaming rooster to me actually. The comb looks very small and yellow from what I can see. I occasionally have RIR roo's and by about 4 weeks old they have little pink wattles coming in and their combs are noticeably larger and pinker then the hens. Sometimes you also get pullets of the same age and one will develop faster then the others but they don't start getting red in the face/wattles until they are closer to laying age. Now if you start seeing a lot of pinking up of the comb in the next week or so, then yes, you've probably got a little roo there.

Edited to add: These chicks are too young to be seeing hackle or saddle feathers yet. Those do not come in until much later.

 

[Pathfinders]

What breed are they? It's not screaming rooster to me actually. The comb looks very small and yellow from what I can see. I occasionally have RIR roo's and by about 4 weeks old they have little pink wattles coming in and their combs are noticeably larger and pinker then the hens. Sometimes you also get pullets of the same age and one will develop faster then the others but they don't start getting red in the face/wattles until they are closer to laying age. Now if you start seeing a lot of pinking up of the comb in the next week or so, then yes, you've probably got a little roo there.

Edited to add: These chicks are too young to be seeing hackle or saddle feathers yet. Those do not come in until much later.

I agree. The pics I posted were of 12 week old birds. I don't generally try to determine gender before that. And I don't always get it right even then! Had one young cockerel sneak in with the girls this summer, he was small and runty. He will make very good chicken and dumplings...

 

[katanne555]

They're White Plymouth Rocks. I guess Ill have to see when she gets older if she's a roo or a pullet. It seems to make more sense to me now that she would be a girl, considering that cockerals would have redder faces. She's still pretty young, so hopefully ill be able to tell if shes a male or female as she ages. Thanks for your help

 

[jctid]

Im curious if there is an update on Tina?