Is this chick gonna be a rooster??

[Issosilly]

Update 2: they are 8 days old now and they look pretty drastically different lol.

 

[Issosilly]

Update 2: they are 8 days old now and they look pretty drastically different lol.

 

[angc11]

8 days old is still way too young to tell. You really do just have to wait. Enjoy your chicks, there's a better chance that it's going to be a female since you were supposed to get all females. Early feathering is hit or miss and honestly not a reliable indicator in my opinion. I had a ton of chicks feather out really early that I swore were females that ended up being males. Like everyone is saying here, you really do have to wait until ~4-6 weeks (and possibly longer) to tell gender. The key indicator for me (I had 44 mixed breed chicks) was comb size/wattles and reddening that starts happening around 4-6 weeks. At 8 weeks, I could 100% determine the gender of any breed in my flock (EEs, cochins, salmon faverolles, d'uccles, etc.) by observing red and large comb/wattles. There were other indicators like sparring and getting bigger than the females, but they always got the large red comb before those other signs.

Now I will also say that most of my chicks who ended up not growing a tail by ~3 weeks turned out to all be males. But you'd still have to wait till 3-4 weeks to observe that and even then it may have been coincidental.

 

[Issosilly]

Update:
18 days in this is how theyre looking

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

I've never recieved a accidentally male from Mt Healthy.

I have, and it was a beauty of a roo - a Welsummer. Really odd that he slipped through since that's an autosexed breed, but I guess it was meant to be. I rehomed before he hit his teenage years, but hopefully he stayed as calm and sweet as he was when he was a cockrel.

 

[redinator]

Update:
18 days in this is how theyre looking

Still too young. 4 weeks is generally the earliest you'd get any definitive answers, unless a fast maturing cockerel has a large AND red comb and wattles before then. 6 weeks is a better since they'll be fully feathered and some can tell by gender specific color patterns.

 

[Issosilly]

Still too young. 4 weeks is generally the earliest you'd get any definitive answers, unless a fast maturing cockerel has a large AND red comb and wattles before then. 6 weeks is a better since they'll be fully feathered and some can tell by gender specific color patterns.

Yeah im just posting occasional updates. Only big red flag is im not sure why but one has a significantly bigger comb than the other. Might just be how big he/she is but thats just the pne thing ive noticed im awarebits too early

 

[CabritaChicks]

You’re young and excited—I get it! I tried wing sexing too, and guess what? I was totally wrong. Not just a little off—completely wrong. My absolute favorite chick? Turned out to be a rooster.

(I was totally convinced it was a girl)

The wing structure didn't tell me squat (raised them from eggs). But later on: The clues were there… you know, like the crowing and now at almost 13 weeks, ummmm, yep he has a incredible hairdo. This is him 10 minutes ago in the hurricane shelter being a goofball watching me sort through stuffs jumping on my lap and 'helping' me be 'productive'.

So honestly, it doesn’t matter right now. If you have a favorite, don’t stress or make any final decisions just yet. Don’t give up on them. They’re adorable now, and who they grow into might surprise you in the best way (even their feather pattern will change- colors and all). Love them for who they are and who they might become.

 

[Issosilly]

You’re young and excited—I get it! I tried wing sexing too, and guess what? I was totally wrong. Not just a little off—completely wrong. My absolute favorite chick? Turned out to be a rooster.

(I was totally convinced it was a girl)

The wing structure didn't tell me squat (raised them from eggs). But later on: The clues were there… you know, like the crowing and now at almost 13 weeks, ummmm, yep he has a incredible hairdo. This is him 10 minutes ago in the hurricane shelter being a goofball watching me sort through stuffs jumping on my lap and 'helping' me be 'productive'.

View attachment 4178116
So honestly, it doesn’t matter right now. If you have a favorite, don’t stress or make any final decisions just yet. Don’t give up on them. They’re adorable now, and who they grow into might surprise you in the best way (even their feather pattern will change- colors and all). Love them for who they are and who they might become.

Im not too worried cause this is what one of my hens looked like when they were anout 16 days old and i worried about her too. But they seem to be growing the same way as my other hen did so im optimistic for sure

 

[MapleLaurelFarms]

Yeah im just posting occasional updates. Only big red flag is im not sure why but one has a significantly bigger comb than the other. Might just be how big he/she is but thats just the pne thing ive noticed im awarebits too early

Might be a sign of a roo. Might just be a little girl with a big comb. I've had that happen a lot. I can usually tell by about 6-8 weeks in the feather structure, but sometimes it takes a bit longer depending on development. By 12 weeks, it's usually a foregone conclusion.