Roo or Pullet? BR chick

[2ndTink]

Let me start with: I know it's too young! I'm wanting to get some early opinions and then track this chick's development in case it helps me, or someone else down the road, figure out if they got an oops roo! Especially if it's from the same hatchery.

The chick in question is a BR chick from Mt Healthy Hatchery that should be a pullet but it's developing feathers slower than the other BR. They were hatched 2/17 and while the one chick has muddled baring with no distinct white and a tail that is already almost an inch long, this chick in question has brilliant white barring and a couple short starts of feathers for a tail.

The first two pictures are of the tailed chick, the following 3 are of the one I'm watching, the last two show both.

Thanks in advance for any thoughtful guesses, I plan to update this every week or so until I know what it is for sure!

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Not sure. Another week maybe two and I could tell. One of the more experienced people might be able to tell. I’m leaning very very hesitantly towards male from the amount of white but I could be completely wrong.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

I’m also leaning very slightly to cockerel. Don’t quote me on it though because I am not an expert and the chick is still a little young.

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

Do you happen to have a photo of this one the day it hatched? I’m curious about something

Edit to add... if I would have read the post in its entirety... never mind! My experiment will not help you lol

 

[2ndTink]

We had one from the same hatchery last year that had me guessing, she ended up with a lot of white to her. Here are some photos of Blue from chick until today. She had me wondering for a bit too if she was a roo, so maybe we just have another Blue Jr coming up!

 

[2ndTink]

Do you happen to have a photo of this one the day it hatched? I’m curious about something

We had 2 chicks that needed some help from the time we got them home, so my focus was on those two, plus I was pretty smitten with my EE's that I didn't get good photos of my hubbys BR picks. I was good buying just a couple EE's he added 2 BRs and 3 RIRs to the purchase but here are a couple bad photos with the BRs in them, unfortunately no leg pictures and all under the heat lamp light.

 

[2ndTink]

The BRs are the only black based chicks in the photos

 

[DouglasB]

Pullets have darker legs than the boys

 

[2ndTink]

Pullets have darker legs than the boys

I think they both have about the same legs, I'll have to look closer.

 

[2ndTink]

Midweek update, the chicks are officially 3 weeks old now, I tried to get some comb and feet pictures. Little Suspect seems to be developing a comb, it also has a smokers peep, kinda raspy, but, I have a BR hen with a raspy voice as well so gosh I'm so confused! Lol! Is anyone seeing cockerel tendencies here?

Maybe you all can give me advice on this one, I have this BR plus 3 EE's that I have my eye on for being possible roos. If the BR is a roo, we will probably keep it as long as it stays nice and is a gentleman, but my husband really wanted 6 BR hens, so if it is a roo it throws off his ideal BR flock. Then, we have 6 EE's, if 3 are roos I'll be bummed because I'd like at least 4 EE hens. We are making a coop for this new flock, so if I have 4 roos I'll want to replace at least 3, but we won't know for sure for another 2 months, by then if we get replacement chicks they'll need their own little pen and we are out of space.

Or, do we just got get more chicks now so they are only 3 weeks apart and in a week or two I could put them together to grow up as a flock, and then I have the right number of coops, but will just likely need to sell off a couple IF my suspect roos turn out to be pullets.

I guess the other option is to wait and if they are roos get replacement chicks next year. But that's all thought out and logical and goes against all chicken math!