Back in April, I got nine fertilized eggs for my broody hen, and she hatched seven babies. Most of them are Cuckoo Marans, but there's one Australorp, and one Cochin-Maran cross. They're about 13 weeks old now and in their own run separate from my laying hens (including the mom, who's no longer broody). Thing is, they ALL look like pullets. It seems so unlikely that there wouldn't be a single rooster in the bunch, but not one has crowed (mostly they still cheep like babies, but they're learning to squawk and cluck now), and I don't see any saddle feathers or spurs. I got my layers as 5-month-old pullets so I've never raised baby chicks before. What age should I wait for so that I know? I can't keep roosters so I was planning to process and eat the boys, and I don't want to give away a girl to someone else only to find that it wasn't a girl after all. Shouldn't the boys be looking like cockerels now? Or does that come later?
Statistics and odds are a funny thing. One would assume a 50/50 ratio, but it could be possible to have all hens. Unlikely, but possible. I would think those breeds would be showing signs of gender by now. I might recommend you take photos of them and put them on the "What breed or gender am I?" thread.
I have 10 Rhode Islanders, age 42 days, and I am in a panic worrying that they might be mostly or all roosters! Most of them have quite a prominent comb. OMG, what am I going to do, I got these for eggs only.
