Red Star chicks - gender?

[Ceakmama]

These little chicks are about 2 weeks old. They were sexed as pullets with a 90% success rate (per the seller). I'm really hoping they're all pullets, because we're not keeping cockerels (already sent 3 to freezer camp from our 1st flock).

I think...
#1 is growing into a cockerel.


#2 looks like a pullet but is upfront to greet me each time like a cockerel would. But that's my favorite chick, so I hope just a friendly pullet.
#3 and #4 look and act like pullets to me.

What do you say?

 

[Ceakmama]

My pictures were messed up, I'm uploading again!

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Red stars are autosexing. Unless your chicks are yellow/white, they’re female.

 

[Ceakmama]

Pics are now attached

 

[Ceakmama]

Red stars are autosexing. Unless your chicks are yellow/white, they’re female.

Oh really? So it just goes by color? I'm still new to this, so I'm learning!

 

[FocusonJesus]

Yes, they are also called red sex links.

 

[NatJ]

Red stars are autosexing. Unless your chicks are yellow/white, they’re female.

Yes, Red Stars can be sexed by color: red/brown/gold down as babies means female, yellow/white down is male.

But they are sexlinks, not autosexing.

Sexlinks are a cross of two breeds, such that male chicks and female chicks will be different colors. If you want more of them, you have to cross the same parent breeds each time. Breeding two sexlinks to each other will not produce color-sexable chicks.

Autosexing breeds can breed true, and produce color-sexable chicks in every generation. Cream Legbar and Barred Rock are examples of autosexing breeds.

 

[Ceakmama]

Yes, Red Stars can be sexed by color: red/brown/gold down as babies means female, yellow/white down is male.

But they are sexlinks, not autosexing.

Sexlinks are a cross of two breeds, such that male chicks and female chicks will be different colors. If you want more of them, you have to cross the same parent breeds each time. Breeding two sexlinks to each other will not produce color-sexable chicks.

Autosexing breeds can breed true, and produce color-sexable chicks in every generation. Cream Legbar and Barred Rock are examples of autosexing breeds.

Thank you for the explanation! I was wondering how it all worked. So I'm safe to say that all my chicks are pullets? I got them from a local livestock store. The seller said they could grow to be barred, because she wasn't sure which breed of parents were used. But she knew they were red star/red sex link from the breeder. I'm not sure what to expect with these ones.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you for the explanation! I was wondering how it all worked. So I'm safe to say that all my chicks are pullets? I got them from a local livestock store. The seller said they could grow to be barred, because she wasn't sure which breed of parents were used. But she knew they were red star/red sex link from the breeder. I'm not sure what to expect with these ones.

I think it's pretty safe to say that yours are females.

There are no common breeds or crosses of chickens that would be sold in a feed store that can have males of that color. (A few uncommon or rare ones exist, but you probably won't find them for sale like that.)

Barred? That has me puzzled, because the common Red Sexlinks (Red Star, Gold Comet, and many other names) do not have barring. But since the seller didn't really know for sure, I suppose you just won't know until they grow up a bit more.