What age do Polish cockerels get their wattles usually?

[kirkyanne]

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]

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]

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.

OK thankyou for the quick reply. So even if they get wattles early it could mean that they are a pullet? That makes it even more tricker I've seen photos of 4 week olds with red wattles so I was secretly hoping that might mean mine are still all pullets still!. I will take photos in a week and post as they still getting some feathers in their crests.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

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]

Thanks so much for the info. It's so confusing I have pekin chicks & barred plymoth rocks and they all develop so differently. I will have to learn to be more patient

 

[drumstick diva]

Yorkshire coop raises polish, maybe she will drop in and remark on your birds.

 

[kirkyanne]

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

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

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]

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?

 

[drumstick diva]

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