Roo or Hen?

[Samantha W]

My 5 chicks are all about 10-12 days old. I checked their wing feathers and have possibly determined that I have 4 hens and 1 roo. But my question is: even at this age will the Roo peck at me when I go to pick up the hens? It is that just coincidence? None of the other chicks peck at me, and Blackie as he/she is called only pecks when I get near the other chicks. Any thoughts??

 

[BantamLover21]

My 5 chicks are all about 10-12 days old. I checked their wing feathers and have possibly determined that I have 4 hens and 1 roo. But my question is: even at this age will the Roo peck at me when I go to pick up the hens? It is that just coincidence? None of the other chicks peck at me, and Blackie as he/she is called only pecks when I get near the other chicks. Any thoughts??

At this age, pecking/aggressive behavior is not always a sign of a rooster. Especially with my Wyandottes, both male and female chicks can be very "pecky" when they're young, always coming to the rescue for other chicks. The hens usually grow out of it, but the roosters will often keep doing so even when they're older.

Wing/feather sexing is not very accurate, except on certain breeds, and even with those, it can be difficult to know for sure.

 

[Samantha W]

Thanks Bantamlover21, I think it is going to be a wait and see game huh? We are not allowed to have roosters in Denver, so as soon as I can figure the sex out on them the better!!!

I'm not even sure what breed they are.....LOL!!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

You can't use wing feathers to sex chicks unless they were specifically bred to be feather sexed. Usually these are commercial birds like white Leghorns. They must have had a fast feathering mother and a slow feathering father--the specific genes I mean, not a general trait. And even if they have the right genetics, it must be done at one day old. It is pretty accurate at a day old, but after that the results are unreliable.

It's a common misconception that feather sexing works on all birds.

You can't tell by behavior at this point either, with the exception that roosters with more aggressive genes are often deceptively "friendly" when young.

Sorry, you'll just have to wait!

 

[Samantha W]

Thanks WalkingOnSunshine, I am generally not a very patient individual but guess I will have to be!!!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Thanks WalkingOnSunshine, I am generally not a very patient individual but guess I will have to be!!!

You should know by eight weeks. Post photos at six weeks, though--depending on the breeding you can often tell by then.

I'm waiting on a batch of Olive Eggers and Super Blue Eggers right now that are the same age as your babies. I want pullets out of this batch so badly. The waiting is driving me nuts, too!

 

[Samantha W]

I will definitely post some 6 week pics, and you do the same, I'd like to see your babies

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Deal!

 

[Samantha W]

Okay.....here are my 6 week pics. Any idea what sex they are? I have a suspicion I have 3 roos in the bunch Hope I am wrong. And a huge thank you for helping me figure this out!!!!



MAC

MAC

ROX

ROX

CHEESY

CHIRPIE

CHIRPIE AND MAC

EVE

 

[donrae]

Mac and Cheesy are roosters, and Eve and Chirpy are pullets. I'm undecided on Rox, but leaning toward cockerel with it as well. It doesn't have as much comb as I'd expect to see at this age, but being a mix could account for that.