What age do Polish cockerels get their wattles usually?

kirkyanne · Nov 28, 2017

What age do polish cockerels usually have their wattles start to show? I know I should be more patient and not 'count my chickens' yet but I have 3 x 5 week olds and they still don't have wattles yet. I am hoping they are all pullets. Can cockerels develop wattles at a later age or should they start to show by now if cockerels?

NOTE: I will wait until 6 weeks to post my gender questions, but just interested to know regarding the wattles

Pics below were taken last week so not good indicator but thought I'd post them anyway. Thanks!

oldhenlikesdogs · Nov 28, 2017

Both sexes can start to show wattles early. Generally you start to see them at 5-6 weeks of age. Polish can be trickier to sex due to their comb type. You are probably going to have to wait longer than 6 weeks. Probably closer to 3 months, and sometimes longer.

kirkyanne · Jul 12, 2020

chkncrazy said:
I see a lot of threads that start off strong but then we never end up knowing what happens sometimes it's a bummer cuz it could help somebody in the future you know but hey at least we got some great pics on this thread! !

The cuckoo was the only female. We rehomed the other two.

kirkyanne · Jul 12, 2020

chkncrazy said:
I'm guessing the original posters all ended up being girls!

No only the cuckoo was a girl. The two early wattle developments were both boys.

oldhenlikesdogs · Nov 28, 2017

I have panicked because of wattles on many a young chick in many breeds. They aren't always a good indicator. With polish you need to see the crest development and whether a bird is feathering in with hen or rooster feathering to determine sex often. Many people will guess a wild hairdo is indicative of a rooster, but it can depend on variety as the white crested have a different type of topknot than the laced varieties which can have a wilder crest in the females.

If you have a bunch of polish chicks it may be easier to spot the differences in the sexes as opposed to someone with one or two chicks at an earlier age.

kirkyanne · Dec 9, 2017

Here are some recent pics. They are so hard to get good photos of. Only the blue has wattles.

Rachnicko · Jun 25, 2020

I’m glad you reopened this thread @PNWskye How are you getting on with your Polish? He/she must be nearly 3 months now?
I also have a Polish that I’m eagerly trying to tell if she is indeed a she... but to make it that much more difficult, she is bearded and a frizzle!! Meet Zasu... the 3 and a half week old...

oldhenlikesdogs · Dec 9, 2017

Cute, that first one is getting a wilder hairdo, so I would watch that one. Otherwise the other two have very controlled hairdos, so I would lean towards pullets on them for now.

keesmom · Dec 9, 2017

Wattle development also depends on whether the bird is bearded or non-bearded, in addition to sex. Crest can be a better indicator. The second and third are pullets. The first could be a cockerel. Is it a frizzle?

kirkyanne · Jan 4, 2018

Updated Photos. So they are 10 weeks old in these pics. I am pretty confident the cuckoo is a girl but still not 100% on the other two since I was told that getting wattles early doesn't necessarily mean they are cockerels

. See album with different shots of all three. What do you think now?