I will give this a try and mark the ones I think are roos and see how it goes as they get olderThus far, I have had REALLY good success by looking at early pink pigment just behind the beak. My roosters got early pink/red and only one of those pinker chicks is giving me a hard time as far as sex goes. I was convinced it was a him, and now I am thinking it is a her. We'll see! I did the same pigment watch with my sultans and have had similar success.
My new batch of chicks will be tough. The WCB's have dark, dark skin and I can't see the red pigment very easily. I usually go by that, as my pullets will have combs but no wattles. They get a little blush on their faces later on, but in the early stages they are pretty pale with little to no wattles. I've noticed my roosters will have more noticeable wattles that then develop into the bigger, more mature looking wattles.
Crest shape sexing would have proven every single person on BYC wrong. My roos had beautiful rounded crests as youngsters that only just now are developing their normal spikes. My pullets had wild crests, all pushed up and mohawked out before they finally rounded out. So while some people can tell by crest shape, pigment, or just behavior, I try to collect a couple of cues along the way and try to do my best guess. The roosters will eventually develop the spiked saddles and hackles with much darker, vibrant plumage. Their legs will be thicker as chicks, and their bodies are generally more husky/large. They are tricky to tell apart but much easier than my silkies!
