Supposed to be pullets...but maybe not?

[NicChick]

We have 22 chicks, 17 of which we mail ordered and they were part of a "Brown Egg Laying Hatchery Choice Assortment" and supposed to be all pullets...but they are 6 weeks old now and I've noticed several of them have more prominent combs- bigger & redder, even within the different breeds. Is it possible that they develop at different paces, or am I probably looking at several roosters? I don't WANT roosters, and paid for sexed chicks- I realize there's a margin of error when sexing them, but this seems to be too big of a margin! There are at least 5/17 that I am suspicious of...

 

[chicchic25]

We have 22 chicks, 17 of which we mail ordered and they were part of a "Brown Egg Laying Hatchery Choice Assortment" and supposed to be all pullets...but they are 6 weeks old now and I've noticed several of them have more prominent combs- bigger & redder, even within the different breeds. Is it possible that they develop at different paces, or am I probably looking at several roosters? I don't WANT roosters, and paid for sexed chicks- I realize there's a margin of error when sexing them, but this seems to be too big of a margin! There are at least 5/17 that I am suspicious of...

Hi NicChick-- do you have any pictures of your chicks in question? I can't help you, I'm too new to chickens but if you could post pics and put it under the forum "Chicken Breeds-- What breed or gender is this?" that's what I did and I'm sure you'll get lots of help.
Best of luck to you!

 

[RM44]

They do, within reason, sometimes develop at different paces. However, I have seen that most hatcheries do have an "oops" or two when trying to sex pullets. I got a few roosters both times that I ordered from a hatchery.

 

[junebuggena]

If you ordered 17 sexed pullets and received 22 chicks, some of those are 'packing peanuts' (males they pack in for extra warmth). Then factoring in a 10 percent error rate in sexing, it would not be uncommon for you to have around 6 or 7 cockerels in the bunch.

 

[rides2far]

When I ordered from Ideal, I specified no packing peanuts, so I received no extra chicks. I did have to pay extra, only a couple of dollars. My order was 100% pullets, so I'm a happy camper. As suggested, take pics of suspect Roos & put on What Breed/Gender Forum.