Is this a roo? I'm so confused! (Newbie)

[Mommychef]

I see 3, 2 with single combs and 1 with a pea comb. 11-12 weeks is about the time saddle feathers begin to start poking through.

I was told that having a "comb" wasn't necessarily indicative of being a cockerel, that with these breeds the hens can have small combs as well

 

[21hens-incharge]

I was told that having a "comb" wasn't necessarily indicative of being a cockerel, that with these breeds the hens can have small combs as well

A pea comb or a straight comb isn't what we are looking at. It is that red color coming in strong.

If you have 6 birds and half are male I recommend looking at what the long term plan is for those boys. They will overbreed, cause stress and likely injure each other as well as those females.

 

[NatJ]

I was told that having a "comb" wasn't necessarily indicative of being a cockerel, that with these breeds the hens can have small combs as well

True, because all chickens have combs.
But also false, because the comb on cockerels tends to get red at a much younger age than pullets. (It also gets larger, but red is the big indicator.)

So when you have a group of same-age chicks, especially if they're all the same or similar breeds, then you can be confident that the bright red combs indicate cockerels. The pullets will get red combs later, when they're about to start laying eggs. But at this age, when half have bright red combs and the other half do not, it is a good way to tell gender.

 

[keesmom]

They have a 6x4x4 coop, so we're good there.

Is that the bachelor coop?

 

[Mommychef]

A pea comb or a straight comb isn't what we are looking at. It is that red color coming in strong.

If you have 6 birds and half are male I recommend looking at what the long term plan is for those boys. They will overbreed, cause stress and likely injure each other as well as those females.

Up close ( & not a photo), the pea comb is pink, so that one is still questionable. Long term, I will likely cull the more problematic roo for a dinner down the road