The Big Fat Is This A Rooster? Thread

[XxMingirlxX]

Hello all
Recently I have seen a lot of posts, especially from new eggs asking if some poultry was male or female. This is fine but I though it would be easier for everyone if there is one big communal thread where everyone can share photos asking for opinion on the gender and get quick advice from the fellow peers on the thread. Rather than having to make their own thread and hope it gets noticed enough for people to replie etc.

So here we go! If anyone is unsure of the gender of an animal, post your photos and details about the breed and the age and I'm sure someone will be able to help you (probably not me though because I'm still hopeless)

To start us off I'm simply going to post a pic of parts of a rooster.

 

[XxMingirlxX]

BTo help get the ball rolling because this is the slowest part of the year for raising chickens I thought I would give some signs on how to determine roosters in chicks, these aren't surefire ways but the might help.

• Some breeds are able to be sexed at birth like cream legbars and most cross breeds, pure breeds tend to be harder to sex or be impossible.
• Depending on the breed you should be able to see signs at around one to two weeks as males will have wider legs, develop combs and wattles faster and the comb will be much wider than the females at the base.
• Some roosters dominate the females from an early age so look for signs of more boisterous chicks.
• At around 18 weeks in hatchery stock (longer in heritage birds) you should start hearing attempted crows and seeing efforts to mount the pullets.
• At 25 weeks plus they should have hackle, saddle and sickle feathers which hens never develop so this will easily indicate a rooster (if you haven't already known by the crowing!).
• Roo's combs also get redder faster than hens.
• Roo's feather slower than pullets and in different areas - pullets develop feathers in their wings first.

 

[XxMingirlxX]

Alright! Time to start this off, I heard you can sex Welsummers once they have dried of from the hatch but I'm a novice and have waited a week, any ideas?

 

[enola]

Welsummers are not an auto-sexing breed or a sex-link breed.

 

[XxMingirlxX]

Id read that you can sex them based on the triangle on their forehead and the eyeliner but i am a novice so a wondered if any Welsummer owners would be able to clarify that for me.

 

[ThePRfan]

That is a hen

 

[ThePRfan]

Sexlinks are mistly auto sex.But,you can sex welsummers at birth

 

[enola]

Sex links are made by breeding two different breeds. Auto sex breeds are purebred breeds that hatch with male/female coloring.

Ok, we have been waiting for someone to drop by and tell us how to sex Wellsummers at hatch.

 

[WalleyWaller]

Pullets will have a very defined V shape on their heads and eyeliner. Females also have much darker heads and back markings than males.
Cockerel will have a smudged looking V and no eyeliner.

 

[Just sayin]

OK - I've had my own thread, but I'll post them here too, to help get the ball rolling. We think we know... but always want to be sure as soon as we can be sure!

I think these chicks are about six weeks old now, pics taken this week. They look very similar, one is a little lighter in the neck and cape area.

These are two chicks hatched by our broody Buff Orpington, but they probably came from our Golden Laced Wyandotte hen and definitely from our Easter Egger Rooster.



The lighter one...



The darker one.




Pics of daddy, and the probable birth mother (pic taken when she was fitted with her saddle), in case they're helpful.