Roosters feathering in slower?

[sherrydeanne]

I have 5 3-week old EE's/Ameraucana's and two are smaller and much less feathered than the others. They don't have tails yet and have short stubby wings. They look the same as they did a week ago feather-wise. The other 3 have tails, wings and are generally just much more feathered. I have a 1.5 week old who has just as much feathering as the two older guys/gals.

So, can I make a good estimated guess that they're cockerals or is it really impossible to tell? Anything else I could look for on those two to help me decide?

The whole bunch:

Two cockerals?:

A good pic of how feathered out the other 3 are:

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

EEs are hard to sex at this age (probably impossible without being a professional) and you need to wait till they are older to find out. Since they are a mix (ameraucana with something else), the something else may be different in your 2 slow feathering chicks than it is with the faster 3. If they were sexed at the hatchery, you have a pretty good chance of having most or all of them being pullets. All 3 of mine were sexed correctly.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I have noticed with my last batch, that the hens feathered out alot faster than the roosters.

 

[sherrydeanne]

Perhaps I'll mark those two and see in a few months if I was right

I have 4 whitish bodied and two reds, and it's one of each color so I don't think it's just different hens chicks IYWIM. I'm not going to cull them yet, but I am hoping I'm right and end up with 4 pullets.

 

[jossanne]

I had a GLW last summer who was extremely slow to feather out, and was much larger than the rest. It stood very tall and erect, had huge legs, and I was sure that it was a boy.

She's now my prettiest pullet, laying lovely large eggs. Her slow-feathering meant nothing...