Is Lucy a rooster??

[coach723]

Some breeds, and particularly mixed breeds, can be hard to tell until they are older. My EE's have fooled me more than once. I have a hen now that I was SURE was a cockerel until she was about 16 weeks old. I have a EE/wyandotte cross roo (2 years old) that has almost no wattles, so they can fool you.
Feathering and comb/wattle development can be affected by genetics. I agree comb and wattles say pullet right now. Red shoulders suggest cockerel. Spur nubs are not a very good indicator, many pullets have them too. In this case I think you need to wait a bit longer to know for sure.

 

[red horse ranch]

You will know probably within the next 2 weeks if it is a male. I usually see the color in the comb by 6 to 7 weeks old. There are so many different ways to judge sex in chickens but every case is different and what works one time may not be true with a different breed. But it's just fun trying to guess.

 

[drumstick diva]

Red over wings usually means the mark of doom - cockerel. Maybe yours will change my opinion

 

[jennsassen]

You will know probably within the next 2 weeks if it is a male. I usually see the color in the comb by 6 to 7 weeks old. There are so many different ways to judge sex in chickens but every case is different and what works one time may not be true with a different breed. But it's just fun trying to guess.

Sorry for this very beginner question-don't the combs of hens and roos turn red eventually though?

 

[coach723]

Yes, they all turn red eventually. Usually cockerels will be larger and redder earlier. Pullets generally don't turn red until they are pretty close to ready to lay.

 

[red horse ranch]

Sorry for this very beginner question-don't the combs of hens and roos turn red eventually though?

Yes, a pullet's comb will start turning red around 4 to 5 months old when she is ready to lay eggs. But a male usually turns red at 6 to 8 weeks old.

 

[jennsassen]

Red over wings usually means the mark of doom - cockerel. Maybe yours will change my opinion

Fingers crossed!

 

[Ugadano]

Can you compare leg shank size of others the same age? I bought bargain chicks at tsc, some pale purple with pink wing feathers starting! Bought them all just to see what they were. They eventually looked like blue laced red wyandottes, very pale and unimpressive. But the most remarkable thing was that they all looked the same until they were 5 months old! Finally determined there were 3 hens and 5 roos by leg size, which showed up obviously accurate eventually. My SL Wyandottes weren't hard to determine like that.

 

[jennsassen]

Can you compare leg shank size of others the same age? I bought bargain chicks at tsc, some pale purple with pink wing feathers starting! Bought them all just to see what they were. They eventually looked like blue laced red wyandottes, very pale and unimpressive. But the most remarkable thing was that they all looked the same until they were 5 months old! Finally determined there were 3 hens and 5 roos by leg size, which showed up obviously accurate eventually. My SL Wyandottes weren't hard to determine like that.

5 months?! Wow.

I'll check the shank size tomorrow.

 

[jennsassen]

Hi there! I'm new to raising chickens and I would love your help here.

Lucy is 5 weeks old. She's always been bigger than her siblings. Recently, she flared her neck feathers at a siblings which I haven't seen the others do yet. I've heard hens do this too though. She has a pretty reserved / shy personality, but is not more nervous, bold or aggressive than the others. No bumps on the backs of her legs, in case that's helpful to know. The last pic. is of her siblings for comparison.

...here's Lucy now, about a week later from the last pics. Red coloring is really scattered all over her body. Head and neck area are coming in more white'ish than her body. Shanks aren't much bigger than siblings.