rir gender

[jimgunn]

This chick is just over 5 weeks old. It has really had me confused as to whether its a boy or a girl. It has a small comb that doesn't look too bright to me so that suggests girl, but the fact that it is taking so long to feather out makes me think its a boy. If any one could tell me their thoughts on what it is then that would be great. Thanks, Jamie

 

[Fred's Hens]

First, I have doubts about it being a Rhode Island Red. It may well be a mix of some kind. It is therefore possible that it doesn't have a single comb, as a true RIR would. This may be giving you sexing difficulties.
I'd suggest waiting until the bird is bit older. It's sex will become clearer with time.

 

[jimgunn]

Thank you. This one hatched from a batch of eggs ordered on the Internet that were said to be pure breed rir so I sincerely hope it's an rir

 

[Kelsie2290]

It does look like a girl to me. It is also strangely colorful for a RIR, is it from a specialty or heritage line or something?

 

[jimgunn]

I am not sure. It was not labelled as anything special but the pictures of the parent birds looked very dark. Much darker than most of the rir that I see on here.

 

[MurphysBYC]

I know that some RIR's feathers can get really dark so I wouldn't let that get in the way of your guess. I just searched for a lot of pictures online of RIR chicks and found some that look just like this.

As far as gender, the thing I was looking at was the size of the legs. I know it is still a little early but they look a little think to be a pullet.

Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!


Tom

 

[jimgunn]

Thank you Tom, that was worrying me, but the main thing that makes me think its a boy is how slow it is feathering out. Does this breed carry the slow feather gene in males?

 

[chickita12]

Yes, it is quite early to tell the gender of your chick but, it does look like a pullet.I do agree though, it does not look like a pure RIR.

 

[jimgunn]

I really hope it is a pullet. I may be able to make room for it in the flock if it is a rooster but a pullet would be easier.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I'm with Fred's Hens, this isn't a RIR. And it doesn't matter that there are photos of "RIR chicks" on the internet that look just like this; I can find photos of "Ameraucana" hens all over the internet that look just like my EE hen, but that doesn't make her an Ameraucana. And it certainly isn't heritage; scroll past the first post on this thread to see a true heritage cockerel and pullet. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/407294/the-heritage-rhode-island-red-site

The feather color is wrong, it has barring, and it has white tips on the feathers, and I don't think that's a true single comb. I would guess that this bird is a mix of a RIR with something else. It's unfortunately common for internet sellers to not be entirely truthful about their birds and/or not have good husbandry practices so that they know without a doubt the paternity of a given chick.

I think you may have to wait a few weeks on this one to get a better idea of the gender.