Welsummer pullet or cockerel???

[nminusyplusm]

Don't welsummers have the sex related head striping? Based on the coloring around the eyes and head I think it's a cockerel.

Yes, his eyeliner is too blond for him to be a girl.

 

[SuperHens]

So we bought three chicks from the feed store about 3 weeks ago, a blue andalusian, a blue laced red wyandotte, and a welsummer. All three were advertised as pullets. The BA and the BLRW are clearly pullets, but the welsummer is a giant question mark. I've combed the internet looking for answers, and I'm almost certain it's a cockerel, but I thought I'd ask the experts here before I returned the chick to the feed store. My only hang ups are the speed in which the chick feathered, the reddish hues I see on it's chest (although I do see flecks of black already), and the way it looked when I got it - it had all the telling signs of being a pullet, but those have faded almost completely and replaced with this giant pink comb, and stocky legs. This chick is easily twice the size of the other two. When I bought them they were all the same size. Does anyone see a pullet here? I have heard that welsummers grow big fast....but I dunno.

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[SuperHens]

I could have written the exact same scenario! My 1 Welsummer bought as a sexed pullet, now at 3 weeks is looking like a Cockerol too... S/he is huge, compared to the rest of the chicks of the same age (different breeds) So we started to call her Emu... thinking she's a big girl, and somebody got confused... but I only have the 1 welsummer, so nobody to compare too- The comb is quite prominant - and looks rather yellow-orange to pale pink... Im not sure if I'm seeing waddles this young... but s/he has a very light chest... Hoping for a gal- I have a little over an acre, but also have neighbors who might not appreciate the singing joys of a rooster.... if anyone has clear pictures of Welsummer chicks, please share TIA

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

I could have written the exact same scenario! My 1 Welsummer bought as a sexed pullet, now at 3 weeks is looking like a Cockerol too... S/he is huge, compared to the rest of the chicks of the same age (different breeds) So we started to call her Emu... thinking she's a big girl, and somebody got confused... but I only have the 1 welsummer, so nobody to compare too- The comb is quite prominant - and looks rather yellow-orange to pale pink... Im not sure if I'm seeing waddles this young... but s/he has a very light chest... Hoping for a gal- I have a little over an acre, but also have neighbors who might not appreciate the singing joys of a rooster.... if anyone has clear pictures of Welsummer chicks, please share TIA

You should post pictures! I've had a little experience with the breed now, and I might be able to shed some light. If nothing else, someone else here might see it and be able to help.

 

[ChickieChickieMama]

This is exactly what I'm trying to figure out right now, too! I have another thread going about this but I don't know how to link to it here... I have two nearly three week old (minimum...I don't know their exact birth dates but on or before March 28th) so-called female welsummers. One is more grey and muscular and enormous and the other is chubby and warm toned and still is slow to feather. Irma (the possible cockerel) has a huge comb already with wattles coming in today and is tough and pretty cranky. Ethel is a fluffy little snuggler and prefers to hang out with the bantams, who are closer to her size! Both have very distinct head v's and eyeliner (in fact, Irma's is stronger!) but that size difference and huge comb and wattles are throwing me off! Here are some pics:

Minimum 3 days old:
Irma

Ethel

Minimum 2 weeks old; Irma on the left and Ethel on the right:

Today, minimum 2 weeks and 5 days old; Ethel on the left and Irma on the right with their reflections.

And a closer up of just Irma:

So what do you think...is Irma a roo?? The dark feathers (dark brown with orangey-salmon tips) are coming in on either side of her chest but there's still a wide stripe of cream in the middle. ‍

 

[Vanilla Gorilla]

I would lean pretty heavily toward Irma being a boy. Those legs look pretty stocky, and the size of the comb is pretty suspect. I have read that it's not uncommon for a Welsummer pullet to get a larger comb, but what started to give mine away was how red the comb was turning even at 3 and 4 weeks. I could also start to see the redness showing up in the wattles. Of course, the dead give away was the tiny attempted crowing at 4 weeks...

The red lamp in your picture is kind of distorting what I can see of the coloring, but the comb does look a little pinkish. In contrast, my Welsummer hen had a yellow comb almost until she started to lay. The feathers on her chest were also extremely uniformly salmon color - no flecks of black at all. I would also say that the feathering on the chest looks to be darker than a female should.

Keep in mind, this is just my two cents. I could very well end up being wrong on every count. Being on this site I've determined that hatchery Welsummers can be very difficult to sex.

In any case, I wish you the best of luck with it. I agonized over it when I ended up with a boy. I had really bonded with the stupid thing in 4 weeks, but I just wasn't allowed to have a rooster, so I had to trade him in for a girl.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Watch the breast as it feathers in.
Here is a pic of one of each. Male can vary some but will have dark (black.)
Pullets have a nice even reddish breast.