my head screams rooster but my heart cries hen!

[bellium]

here are my five remaining tractor supply mysteries, now 11-12 weeks of age. one told me he was a cockerel a few weeks ago by warming up his crowing pipes, so he’s gone to a farm where they were in need of a rooster. some have been sexed and indentified, breed-wise, so i thought i’d include them just for your viewing pleasure. i have two left that i still need help with.

the first two photos are of a chick that came from the “maran” bin. wrong color legs for a maran, wrong comb for barred rock. comb turned red fast but no wattle development yet. your guesses would be appreciated.

third photo is my “orpington”, who i believe is an appenzeller spitzhauben pullet. my cockerel spitz was the one who was rehomed.

fourth photo is, i believe, a black sex link pullet. we call her meg - short for megladon.

fifth is t-rex, and i can’t remember what TSC called her but i think she’s a white rock hen. my most boring to look at but she’s a sweetheart.

photos six and seven are of my last remaining chick, also from the “maran” bin, who makes me want to cry every time i look at him/her because i want another pullet and i don’t think my wish is going to come true. i orginally thought australorp but now, maybe jersey giant? it’s a big chicken, that’s for sure. again, i welcome input!

 

[Pyxis]

The first one would appear to be a dominique. With that much comb redness and width development, I do suspect it's a cockerel. I also just wanted to let you know it's spelled wattles with two t's instead of d's

The second one is indeed a spitzhauben, I can't comment on gender on that one. The one after that does appear to possibly be a black sex link or an asian black and looks to be a pullet. The one after that looks like a pullet and could be either a white leghorn or maybe a white rock.

Last one is either an australorp or a Jersey giant and is a cockerel.

 

[KikiLeigh02]

1, 3, and 5 look like possible cockerels to me. The comb on 3 doesn't scream it but the tail is looking suspicious to me.

 

[Thechickenchick2]

The one you are thinking to be a black sex link pullet is indeed a pullet but is not a black sex link. TSC got a LOT of people this season with the BSL bin and they seem to be Asian blacks.

 

[bellium]

@Pyxis thank you for pointing out the spelling error, i’ve edited it - autocorrect likes to occasionally make me look like a dunce!

 

[Pyxis]

@Pyxis thank you for pointing out the spelling error, i’ve edited it - autocorrect likes to occasionally make me look like a dunce!

Haha, autocorrect does that to us all! I only mentioned it since a lot of people think it's actually spelled like 'waddle', and I know if I was making an error like that I'd want to be corrected so I didn't keep doing it going forward, lol.

 

[JedJackson]

1 is probably a Dominique. It is darker than a male would usually be and has female type barring. But comb, face, and wattle are red, if undeveloped. And then there's the curved tail feather. But no male saddle or hackle feathers. So, hmmm. I think it could go either way, but lean toward it being a pullet despite some male traits.

2 is another tough one. Crest, lack of wattles say pullet but the tail says cockerel. And it has the stance of a cockerel. Another hmmm, but I would say he's a cockerel based on the picture of him in the background of picture 3, if that is the same bird.

3 Another weird tail, but otherwise looks like a pullet. So guessing pullet.

4 is a pullet. Not sure what breeed-- would guess it's some kind of layer strain like Dixie rainbows or something. Or it could be a Leghorn or white rock, like Pyxis said.

5 is a definite cockerel. If you check the color under the feet you will be able to tell the breed-- yellow for Jersey Giant or possibly Java, white or pinkish white for Australorp or possibly Orpington.

 

[bellium]

@JedJackson thanks for taking the time to look, and for your thoughtful response.

i’m thinking pullet for the spitz based on the difference in development between this chick, and the one i rehomed (on the right in this photo, taken two weeks ago). he crowed at nine weeks, confirming my suspicions about him. no one else has been crowing or doing anything remotely “rooster-y”.

apparently i just like to grow chickens with curved tail feathers - the two EEs behind my alleged cockerel in the second to last photo in the original post both clearly have a bit of a bend to their tails, but they lay me an egg every day!

 

[JedJackson]

It does look more like a pullet in that picture. But then again, the cockerel doesn't look much like a cockerel in that picture, either, although it does have slight wattle development and color. Hopefully you have a pullet-- time will tell.

A little curving in the tail is pretty common on young pullets and occasionally on hens. It's just one trait among many that should be weighed in determining sex. The black bird I'm pretty sure is a cockerel, though. There's the tail, there's the thick legs, but the main things are the big, red comb and wattles. I would check the color under the feet so you can give a definite breed when and if you have to re-home him. Good luck on the pullet count!

 

[bellium]

sigh. i know he’s a boy, i just don’t want to get rid of him just yet. his yellow feet point toward jersey giant - he’s not fancy like my other cockerel was and so will likely end up on someone’s dinner plate. circle of life and all that but i have a tender heart!