Pullet vs. cockerel x4

[mebberry4]

Hello,
I have some barnyard chicks that I hatched under a broody that are just about 4 weeks old.

Here is Little Red:



Freckles:



Little Lavender:



Bay (sorry for the not so great picture)



I am hoping beyond hope to have 2-3 little hens out of this hatch.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[chooks4life]

The last pic, the dark one, looks like a pullet. With the rest, it's still a little early going by their development but I'm leaning towards male at this point, but not sure either way. Some males are very obvious from even hatching onwards, others show at any time after that, but yours are very intermediate so we will have to wait and see for now I guess, unless anyone else knows for sure.

Best wishes.

 

[mebberry4]

Thank you for your input! Is there a better age to post update pictures in the near future?

 

[mebberry4]

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[SweetSilver]

Check in closer to 8 weeks. They'll have some nice feathering then. It still is not a definitive age, but in my experience coloring and comb/wattle development can be far more pronounced.

 

[mebberry4]

Check in closer to 8 weeks. They'll have some nice feathering then. It still is not a definitive age, but in my experience coloring and comb/wattle development can be far more pronounced.

Thanks SweetSilver. I will definitely post updates pics of them in about a month.
I really hope I don't have more cockerels than pullets!!

 

[chooks4life]

8 weeks is a good age, it's basically guaranteed around that age with the exception of some really slow developers, but generally you will also see a peak around 6 weeks when males really start to show masculine development, so even waiting another two weeks should show something but 8 weeks for a better bet with slow developers.

Best wishes.

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

I also agree that the black-ish one may be the only female. The orange one looks girly but that comb looks kinda pinkish. A few weeks more will give us a better guess.

 

[mebberry4]

8 weeks is a good age, it's basically guaranteed around that age with the exception of some really slow developers, but generally you will also see a peak around 6 weeks when males really start to show masculine development, so even waiting another two weeks should show something but 8 weeks for a better bet with slow developers.

Best wishes.

Thanks! They are around 5.5 weeks old now, so I will be sure to post updates here in a few weeks.

 

[mebberry4]

I also agree that the black-ish one may be the only female. The orange one looks girly but that comb looks kinda pinkish. A few weeks more will give us a better guess.

Thank you for taking a look! I'm super sad about the possibility of having a 3:1 roo to hen ratio on this hatch.

The little red and black chicks feathered out at the same rate, so initially thought that they were the two hens.
Lately, however, the blue and red chicks have been squaring off with some decidedly rooster-ish staring contests. Heads lowered, neck feathers out, the whole nine yards.
I guess I'm left hoping the freckled one surprises us all and lays us some eggs!


Edited for typos