roosters or hens

[mendogurl]

My chicks are only 3 weeks old.
When should I be able to tell if I have any roos?

 

[cmom]

Shortly. This is a not so good picture of my little Roo "Chester"

 

[mendogurl]

Quote:
How can you tell?

 

[cmom]

It is really hard to tell. He was the same size but his feathers were coming in different. Here is another picture of him a little older and maybe you can see the saddle feathers are longer and more pointed and his legs and feet were a little bigger. He was susposed to be a pullet as I ordered pullets but he snuck in. He wasn't a packing peanut. I suspected for awhile before I knew for sure by the way he was growing and how his feathers were coming in. Every day I hoped I was wrong and that he was really a she but it wasn't to be.

 

[KattyKillFish]

yep, chester is a roo...

you can tell by the size of the comb, males will have bigger combs.
the size/thickness of the legs, males will have the larger
redness of the skin, males will have redder skin unless you have a black-skinned breed. then it's hard to tell
the feathers will come in faster, longer and eventually pointier.
a roo may also want to stand a little higher than the rest, but this isn't always a sure sign. some hens like to stand up a bit more upright too.


hope i've been some help!