RIR over White Leghorn: how do you sex the juveniles?

[Feanor]

Hello, I recently acquired three crosses of Rhode Island Red roo over a white leghorn hen. It was a clutch of about 20 or so, some white with hardly any color, some white and brown mixed, and a few orangeish with white speckles. The guy who hatched them said the mostly-white ones were likely to be cockerels. They were 13 weeks old (when these pictures were taken) and I have a suspicion that I have at least one cockerel. Has anyone else bred RIR/WL with coloration similar to these?









Do you think both the white and brown ones are cockerels, or just one or the other? I can see that the one with the fuller comb looks a bit taller/leaner, but not sure if that is due to it being a week older maybe, or its genetic individuality, etc. Thanks!

 

[donrae]

I thought the dominant white in the leghorn messed with sex linkage, but those are pretty classic looking. The white ones with the red on the shoulder/wing are roosters. The brownish ones with lighter tails/backsides are hens.

 

[Habibs Hens]

going by last picture


The Middle White/Red look like a Cockrel

the other 2 on the outer sides look like pullets


Very Nice Birds

A bit more refining and following the breeding Guide and Crossing the RIR with a WL gives you Amber Stars

Lovly Birds, I have one myself

 

[hdowden]

the 2 red and white ones are cockerels the almost solid color red on the right in the last pic is a pullet

 

[BlueCamas]

the 2 red and white ones are cockerels the almost solid color red on the right in the last pic is a pullet

x2 Congratulations, you have created sex-links!

 

[Feanor]

Thanks for the replies! What was strange about this batch is that the reddish one with the splash of white was the only one of its kind; the rest were nearly solid white or white with red wings like the two in the picture. So perhaps the more solid colorish ones are female and the white/red mixes are roos. Is this coloration a typical result of RIR over WL? Or is it just random result of the unique genes of the parents? I haven't found many other pictures of this cross to compare with online, even though it seems to be a fairly common cross.

 

[Feanor]

the 2 red and white ones are cockerels the almost solid color red on the right in the last pic is a pullet

I thought the dominant white in the leghorn messed with sex linkage, but those are pretty classic looking. The white ones with the red on the shoulder/wing are roosters. The brownish ones with lighter tails/backsides are hens.

Take a look at how much redder and more developed the comb and waddle are on the second chicken from the left compared to the one that has the same feathering on the left. That's the main thing that made me think he may be a rooster (because the other two's comb and waddle are still small and pink). If the chick on the left were also male, shouldn't his comb and waddle be as big and red as the one in the middle, since they're all from the same clutch?

 

[shamblintribe]

These are my 2 RIR over White Leghorns, they are almost 18 weeks. You can see the comb of the male is bright and very large, as for the female hers is on the smaller side and more pink them red. The male has only a few red areas as you can see

 

[4hwannabe]

I just was wondering how those RIR leghorn crosses turned out. I have one that I was hoping was a hen. She looks a lot like yours now at 18 weeks. Thanks for your update.

 

[enola]

Donrea, I think you were right. I doubt the white leghorn hens used in this cross were pure white leghorn. Every chick I have ever hatched from a white leghorn egg has been white, no matter what the rooster was she was bred to.

I suspect the hens being used were Austra whites or Pearl whites. The genetics of purebred white leghorns will not allow her to produce any color other than white on the first generation cross.