My husband is convinced that our buff is a cockeral

[rc4u]

and by feathering ///the hens get longer tail and wing feathers after 2-4 weeks and the roos much shorter..thats why it seems longer to feather......the one pic looks hen from the tail...

Good information to know.

 

[blucoondawg]

Hard to say for sure, main thing for me is always size and reddening of the comb, hens combs usually don't get really red until right before the point of lay, some roosters will start to redden at a few weeks old. I can't tell by tail feathers either, I have 11 week olds right now, it is easy to tell the hens from roosters, and some of the hens have to tail feathers at all, just little round butts.

From your original picture I would say it is somewhat likely you have a rooster there just because the comb and wattles are a little larger and beginning to color, but every chick will grow in a little differently, some faster, some slower.

 

[Gingersnap722]

Aww man! I think my free "exotic" chick is a gold laced wyandotte roo. His little comb is already red at three weeks old.

 

[andreanar]

Here is my BO cockeral at almost 6 weeks for comparison.

 

[newmarch2014]

Are you sure the little one is really the same age? Or maybe it is a bantam breed? I did have one lag behind for awhile that was sick with an over abundance of coccidosis and it made her much smaller than her flockmates for a bit but a few weeks after she had caught up.