Is this little one a mrs. or a mr.?

[the3littles]

Hi All! My family and I are raising three little chickens (they are roughly 6 weeks old), I have this feeling though that one is a mr. Any thoughts? Some say that she may be developing faster than the other two, but her comb seems to be too big to be a hen?

What do my fellow chicken lovers think? They I believe are Rhode Island Reds and are supposedly sex linked.

 

[donrae]

That bird looks to be male.

I think what you have is a second generation sex link. When you breed sex links together, the offspring are shades of red and white and are not themselves sex-linked.

Where did you get him?

 

[the3littles]

I got him/her at our local feed store. The lady who helped us said that they were all hens, she has raised chickens her whole life. But this one has a larger comb than the other two and overall has always just been bigger. This is my first time raising chickens so I just don't have a clue. It looks like his comb goes back the same length as the other chickens it's just redder.

 

[Cynthia12]

That's a cute little boy. I have RIR's, a couple that are around 5 month old, and are just now getting that red!

 

[the3littles]

That's what I was afraid of! Sadly we can't have roosters in city limits. I will have to find him a loving home in the country, so wish I could keep him, because he is so friendly and sweet!

 

[TheCrazyClucker]

He's a Mr.

 

[TheCrazyClucker]

Oh, and they're Sex-Links. RIRs are more of a mahogany color.

 

[the3littles]

I am thrilled to announce that little one we thought might be a mr. is actually a mrs! She has been laying eggs for about two months now and is bigger than my other two. She just matured faster than the other two girls. She is also the largest and sweetest of the three.