Is this chick male? Ahhhhh!

[Juise]

We just picked up our chicks today, and as we can't have a rooster we selected all of ours from the pullet bins. I was told the only way to be 100% sure they were female was to get sex-links and we did get two black sex-link chicks. I was just looking up info on the breeds of chicks I got and ran across a couple sites that said female black sex-link chicks will be all black on their heads. Not all of the sites said this, others citing things like reddish feathers around their necks. One of our two has white on its head, though. And so did a lot of other in the black sex-link pullet bin. I am so upset right now, I really don't want to have to bring the poor things back

You can see a picture of it on this post...

Get Ready For Chickens

I'm really hoping you guys tell me that it isn't a sure fire indicator, but afraid that isn't what I'm going to hear

 

[mboreham1]

looks like a pullet to me

 

[CowgirlPenny]

I believe they are way too young to tell. You'll have to wait until they start to feather out. Cute chicks!

 

[OkChickens]

Generally speaking places like Tsc and feed stores will guarantee the 100% pullets. I bought a few from Atwoods the they said if some ended up being a cockrels I would get a refund of more chicks. Sex link can be sexed by color but it is NOT 100% accurate. Males can be different colors. Only time will tell now on the pullets. I hope you got 6 out of 6 pullets! Congrats on your chicks!

Nate

 

[Juise]

Ohmygosh, mboreham1, I am so happy to hear you say that. What are you looking at that makes you say it looks like a pullet? Honestly, I didn't really think I was terribly attached to them, we just got them this afternoon! I wasn't letting my daughter name them yet for at least a few days and thought I would be disappointed if one died, but not heartbroken. But the thought of having to bring the little thing back to the feed store after its got all settled in and acquainted with the other chicks just churned my stomach!

CowgirlPenny - I realize there is a chance any of them could turn out to be roosters, but what I was worried about was the fact that a couple sites said that if it had white on its head it was male. I didn't want to for sure buy a rooster I would have to figure out what to do with!

 

[rarely bored]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news...
here is the official BYC thread on sex-links, scroll down to where it says Black sex link
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261208
as my dh usually says, "Now we know"

 

[Juise]

OkChickens - I x-posted with you, thank you for the welcome, I am very excited about getting chickens and the journey to come.

I am really happy no one has yet said, "Yep, that's a boy. Definitely."

 

[CowgirlPenny]

Quote:
I have three black sex links, they look just like yours. Relax! Enjoy your new chick-ees. Only time will tell!!

 

[OkChickens]

Quote:
I love raising my chickens! I have had them since November of 2010 and I have learned an unbelievably amount of information from BYC! I had so many questions and I am glad I asked. Don't be afraid to ask questions and there are no dumb questions! I am far from knowing everything but I am glad to help when I can! Enjoy your chicks cause they grow really fast! Also plan for chicken math when your building your coop! Have fun!

Nate

 

[Juise]

Ugh, this is going to kill me. I x-posted with Rarely Bored as well. So that link also says a white spot on top of the head means male. I don't suppose there might be someone who has raised a black sex-link chick with a white spot on its head to be a hen?

I just want to make sure I am not keeping a chick that is definitely male. I'm okay with "Probably a female but could turn out to be male," but if a white spot on the head is a sure fire male, I am going to have to take him back.