Mt Healthy messed up

[Ponyiqandhens2]

I've got several roosters. Some jerks and some amazing. In my experience, the roosters that I didn't try to handle anymore than necessary turned out to be the most amazing boys. The ones that were held and given a lot of attention turned into jerks. The next person might say the opposite but that's been my experience. I wish you and your flock the very best

My experience as well i have 6 at the moment, only jerk is the one i raised as a pet..although the 10lb orpintong gently put him in his place multiple times ( 1lb sebright)

 

[LuciferRoo]

In reality - the comb isn't a 100% tell in all aspects. Red, large - you name it - some can end up going the other way. Two things an actual cockerel cannot hide - male specific feathering, and crowing.

So really everything we do here is guess up until those two things show.

I was just terribly deceived on a mottled mix we hatched. I was convinced due to the large comb at around 8 weeks that it was a cockerel. But, it is now about 20 weeks and is very much a pullet, but a very large pullet with a huge comb and decent wattles.

There were 2 young chickens that I took in after someone abandoned them. I guessed 2 months old. A white with a large red comb and a speckled black with tiny comb.
I assumed cockerel and pullet. Boy was I surprised when a couple months later I found a white egg, and by then I knew the black pullet was a Bielefelder, which lay very dark brown eggs.
Turns out my cockerel was a pullet - a White Leghorn.

 

[NatJ]

View attachment 3560176
This is Pip, the bird in question, at about 5 weeks. I didn't question the gender -- ever -- until someone said, "That's a lot of comb for a 5 week old. And I see wattles starting." That was my first gut clench moment.

I don't think the comb has gotten appreciably bigger in the 10 days since this was taken.

Of the 4 Bielefelders, there are two that are more red, and two that are more grey/dun colored, comparatively. Pip is one of those. Pip was also slightly smaller; not a lot, just enough that you could say, "this chick is smaller than the others."

@Sally PB Did your chick turn out to be male or female? Has the breed become more obvious? (It's been a few months, so I'm hoping the matter has become clear by now.)

 

[Sally PB]

@Sally PB Did your chick turn out to be male or female? Has the breed become more obvious? (It's been a few months, so I'm hoping the matter has become clear by now.)

Pip is definitely a pullet, and a Bielefelder! She's also a sweetheart, and one of my lap chickens.

Here she is, taking a nap.