tail feathers - roosters or hens - need help before dh gets madder

[mistylady]

The chicks are about three weeks old now. Some have longer tail feathers (obviously longer) and some have tailfeather stumps. Am I right in the roos have the stumps? They are mainly the lighter colored ones and some are getting bigger combs. I really need to know before hubby starts dispatching chickens. I told him I would be getting rid of the extra as soon as possible. If I can get my friend to take her 8 then I can give a member on here her chicks and the leftovers are mine! I really need my friend here to take her 8 asap but I don't want to stick her with a bunch of roos! Any help!!!!! They gotta go!!!!

 

[gritsar]

Three weeks is too soon to tell unfortunately. Between four and six weeks the chicks start developing their secondary sex characteristics and you'll be able to start finding your roos. It could take a few weeks after that before you can be sure.

 

[mistylady]

Thank you. I'll be able to buy them some more time!

 

[gritsar]

Here, take a look at this post. It contains a "cheat sheet" that I found very helpful in sexing my chicks. I used this method and was able to correctly identify five out of five roos.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=48329

 

[Cuban Longtails]

3 weeks is way too soon, need to be at least 6 weeks old and fully feathered - preferrably 8 weeks before you start guessing sexes. A lot of it will depend on the breed you have too.