Sexing help, please

[MysteryChicken]

Unfortunately I have to make a decision by Saturday

Okay, would've been nice to know ahead of time. Here's a 4 and half week old Barred Rock cross chick I had that's now fully grown.

He's a cockerel.

 

[aart]

Unfortunately I have to make a decision by Saturday

Why?
That's rather unreasonable, IMO.

Way to tell for sure is by 4-5 weeks the combs and wattles will tell the tale.

 

[stephanietcox]

Why?
That's rather unreasonable, IMO.

Way to tell for sure is by 4-5 weeks the combs and wattles will tell the tale.

Because that is when I have someone willing to take all the other chicks we cannot keep, including any roosters.

 

[aart]

Because that is when I have someone willing to take all the other chicks we cannot keep, including any roosters.

They can't wait a few weeks?

 

[stephanietcox]

They want them as little as possible. Cuteness factor, I guess.

 

[cstephens1987]

They want them as little as possible. Cuteness factor, I guess.

Sexing of these at this age is kind of a crap shoot. I would agree that the wings look dark but barring in males doesn't usually come out that fast and may take 3-4 weeks to really be clear. Same with comb. As for legs that is generally accepted to hold somewhat true but is usually bred for by hatcheries if you want the dark wash to be consistent on pullets. Head spot sexing is notoriously difficult and honestly I'd agree that a lot of these look too big and loosely defined to be pullets but that also is something that changes as they age and is usually more reliable in the first few days after hatch.