red hens or roos?

[starmunki]

i have read SO many posts and so much info via this forum but i am finally caving in and posting my own...
i'm extremely impatient and this waiting game is killing me!
if anyone can help me figure out the sex of these kids, i'd appreciate it.
i am really thinking that 2 of them may be roos...
i'd like to think that they're just a tiny bit further along in development, but...

as with many people...i bought them as rhode island reds & now think
they're probably just production reds, but i adore them none the less.

they're 5 1/2 weeks old...but they're 5 weeks old in these pix...


#1 whom i think may (possibly?) be the only hen of my reds...
she has a tiny bit of pink on her wattle, but her comb seems smaller than the other 2



#2 who has a bit more red in the wattle and a tiny hint of pink on the comb
(both the wattle and comb seem larger to me than #1)



#3 an obviously reddish comb and wattle (again...both slightly larger than #1 about the same as #2)



i have several other pictures if anything else would help...i just thought these were the most obvious telltale signs.
i'm already positive on my BR trio...2 roos and 1 hen (thanks to all of the info here in the forum!)
anyone want a couple of BR cockerels?

 

[aoxa]

Pictures of their legs/body would help as well.

I think you have two girls and a possible boy (the last one). Did you buy them straight run?

 

[starmunki]

aoxa...
i got them all as pullets. as you can see, i have great luck...
especially considering that of my 3 BR "pullets" i have only one actual pullet.
and now these reds are taking their time showing me who they really are.
i will go through my pix and see what else i can come up with for comparison.


p.s. i rather enjoy perusing your blog. i have chicken envy.

 

[aoxa]

aoxa...

i got them all as pullets. as you can see, i have great luck...
especially considering that of my 3 BR "pullets" i have only one actual pullet.
and now these reds are taking their time showing me who they really are.
i will go through my pix and see what else i can come up with for comparison.


p.s. i rather enjoy perusing your blog. i have chicken envy.

 

Aww thanks! Nice to know someone is reading it lol

That is horrible luck! Barred rocks are often sexable by leg colour at a day old... There shouldn't be any error to those guys.. There is always a margin for error, but it's usually 10% or less. So if you got 10 sexed pullets, only one should be a roo.

 

[aoxa]

Did you post a question about your barred rocks? I can't see it from your profile. I'd like to have a look!

 

[starmunki]

Did you post a question about your barred rocks? I can't see it from your profile. I'd like to have a look!

yeah, my hubby said i had the worst pullet luck ever.

i never posted a question about them, but i think i read every post about BR sexing on BYC.

this is hansel (used to be gretel) at 5 weeks old.
the wash on his legs was quite a lot darker as a young chick and has faded immensely.
but his comb was turning red at 2 1/2 weeks. all boy from the get go.
& his tail is getting huge fast!




our other BR "pullet" oliver (was olivia) had the same thing...black wash on legs, even darker than hansel at days old
and then it faded and his comb and wattle started turning pinkish at around 3 weeks. but nothing like hansel.
and oliver's tail is nothing like hansel's. oliver is stuck somewhere between hansel and our BR hen, maggie.




this is from L to R- hansel, maggie, oliver (you can kind of see his legs & the faded wash)
but look at the tail size difference between hansel & oliver...crazy & i'm babbling, i know.
(not that you can tell much from this pic...but the red in the far back is #1 and the far right is #3)


let me see what i can find for their days old pix.
i should have paid more attention to the patterns on their heads...
but i really thought the legs were more indicative of sex. oh well.

 

[aoxa]

Yes those two are definitely boys! I haven't experienced the wash on the legs fading. I knew at a day old that two of my fiver were boys. I had no choice, as there were only five, and I made a commitment for 5 straight run chicks. They were from a breeder of show quality barred rocks. One has me wondering. I am on the fence about it's gender. It is not as light in the barring as the boys, but it is not as dark as the girls either. It has wash on the front of it's legs, but it's comb is a little pink. I'm worried. She is my favourite one too. The barring is very pretty on her.

@ 4 weeks

 

[aoxa]

Here's two others. Boy on right, girl on left.

 

[aoxa]

again...

 

[starmunki]

again...

oh my gosh...pretty pretty pretty! i love barred rocks. that wash is what oliver's looked like up until about 4 weeks.
i never read anything about the color fading on legs...but one faded so there is barely a trace and the other, i swear is completely gone.
your chickens are lovely. you have several that i'd eventually love to have.
thanks for all of your input <3