What gender am I?

[aldanfac]

Hi I am new to this forum so hello everyone! I recently just got chickens again after not having them for years and I am so excited! A friend of mine has a bunch of chickens so I just went and picked from their new babies from this year. I have 11 chicks with their mom (Maran or Barndever?? I believe), 2 pullets, and 4 straight run amerucanas. I was certain the 2 pullets were 2 pullets but one is sort of looking like a cockerel. The first picture is of the cochin pullet I suspect being a cockerel, then the next photos are of the straight run barnyard 11 chicks, and then the 4 amerucanas. Please let me know what you think!

Cochin pullet or cockerel?

Barnyard chicks types? sex?

Amerucana chicks sex? (sorry these pictures suck because I got them last out of everyone and they were moved to their own coop with light and the pictures were bad but I can definitely get better pictures I was just giving them some time to adjust)

 

[sourland]

The Cochin is a cockerel, and the chicks are too young for gender ID.

 

[aldanfac]

The Cochin is a cockerel, and the chicks are too young for gender ID.

Thank you! I knew they were still too small to tell but was curious because some are showing bigger crowns and longer tails so I thought maybe that would be a good sign. Can you tell me a bit about how you sex them I want to be able to get better at it

 

[Holdthechicken]

Thank you! I knew they were still too small to tell but was curious because some are showing bigger crowns and longer tails so I thought maybe that would be a good sign. Can you tell me a bit about how you sex them I want to be able to get better at it

Okay I know you’re not asking me, but since I’m new as well and have read copious amounts of these gender posts I thought maybe I could share what I’ve learned.
First, for some breeds, they are sex- linked or auto-sexed. Meaning, they’ve been bred with the ability to tell the sex at birth depending on the color of the chick, but there is a difference between sex-linked and auto-sexed and I’m still learning that.

There are pure bred birds that are bred for specific traits that help you with sexing like a head dot in barred rocks or if you have the correct feathering type of parentage then you can feather sex the chicks.. but those qualities aren’t kept in hatcheries it seems.

There are also some pure bred breeds that have specific tells like some are fast maturing so you would know a little earlier some are notoriously slow maturing like silkies.

So what I’ve gathered is, if none of those things apply to your birds, then you have to wait between four and six weeks to start looking at comb and wattle development , and even then sometimes longer because you could have a slow maturing cockerel or a fast maturing pullet. However, it does seem like if there’s any redness to the comb or wattle before like 10 weeks chances of it being a cockerel are pretty high. There’s also some other tells for cockerels Starting around 12 weeks like male specific feathering in the saddle and hackle feathers and young crowing attempts.

And sometimes red pattern or red leakage over the wings seems to be a tell of males, unless it’s a red colored bird I think. But that seems to something you start recognizing with more experience.

I know attitude and behavior play a factor here but I’ve gathered it is too unreliable since you can have a bossy pullet or the friendliest cockerel or any combination depending on their personalities.

I’m sure I got some things wrong and anyone with corrections, I’m here to learn.

Good luck OP, I’ve been having fun with learning. It’s all fascinating!

 

[aldanfac]

Okay I know you’re not asking me, but since I’m new as well and have read copious amounts of these gender posts I thought maybe I could share what I’ve learned.
First, for some breees, they are sex- linked or auto-sexed. Meaning, they’ve been bread with the ability to tell the sex at birth depending on the color of the chick, but there is a difference between sex-linked and auto-sexed and I’m still learning that.

There are pure bred birds that are bred for specific traits that help you with sexing like a head dot in barred rocks or if you have the correct feathering type of parentage then you can feather sex the chicks.. but those qualities aren’t kept in hatcheries it seems.

There are also some pure bred breeds that have specific tells like some are fast maturing so you would know a little earlier some are notoriously slow maturing like silkies.

So what I’ve gathered is, if none of those things apply to your birds, then you have to wait between four and six weeks to start looking at comb and wattle development , and even then sometimes longer because you could have a slow maturing cockerel or a fast maturing pullet. However, it does seem like if there’s any redness to the comb or wattle before like 10 weeks chances of it being a cockerel are pretty high. There’s also some other tells for cockerels Starting around 12 weeks like male specific feathering in the saddle and hackle feathers and young crowing attempts.

And sometimes red pattern or red leakage over the wings seems to be a tell of males, unless it’s a red colored bird I think. But that seems to something you start recognizing with more experience.

I know attitude and behavior play a factor here but I’ve gathered it is too unreliable since you can have a bossy pullet or the friendliest cockerel or any combination depending on their personalities.

I’m sure I got some things wrong and anyone with corrections, I’m here to learn.

Good luck OP, I’ve been having fun with learning. It’s all fascinating!

THANK YOU!!! this is sooooo helpful, it was the perfect rundown for everything I need to start reading up on more your awesome for this! Do you think it’s possible the cochin is a fast maturing hen? I really think it looks like a cockerel too but my friend is pretty experienced has been keeping chickens for 20+ years and had this one in his pullet pen. Obviously you never know but I do find it strange he misgendered this one, not a loss tho still love the little dude either way!

 

[Holdthechicken]

I’ve also gathered that @sourland has been around chickens for a long time, if they say it’s a cockerel that guess is better than mine.

 

[Holdthechicken]

however, after looking back at your Cochin (I’ve never owned any) it definitely looks like pointed male specific tail feathers.

 

[Yard Farmer]

The Cochin is a cockerel, and the chicks are too young for gender ID.

I 2nd this.