What gender AND some questions!

[waresave]

What gender do you think my 8-week-old BCM/Ameraucana chick is? The comb is quite red but weird that there are no waddles yet? Seems like even females have some waddles by this age?

Some questions!! In the second pic, the side profile, are those saddle feathers on its back? If not, when would those start to form if it is a male?

If this chick were to end up with copper coloring, at what age would this start to show up?

This chick has a few stripped feathers (like barred rocks) on its body under the wings. Where did this come from? Is this just one of those weird things that happen when you mix breeds?

This chick also has exhibited many female-like characteristics. Have you ever had a rooster that seemed very "feminine" but turned out to be a boy??

Thanks so much!

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

He’s definitely a cockerel. He has a pea comb which leads to smaller wattles. If he does wind up with some copper, I would expect to see it probably around the 12 week mark when he gets in sex-feathering. The striped feathers are likely stress barring which birds can get for various reasons

 

[waresave]

He’s definitely a cockerel. He has a pea comb which leads to smaller wattles. If he does wind up with some copper, I would expect to see it probably around the 12 week mark when he gets in sex-feathering. The striped feathers are likely stress barring which birds can get for various reasons

That's super interesting, I'd never heard that about the pea comb. Is this universal with all pea-comb chicken breeds?? I had a feeling he was a boy, I went out a couple weeks ago and got some pullets to balance the flock. Lol.

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

That's super interesting, I'd never heard that about the pea comb. Is this universal with all pea-comb chicken breeds?? I had a feeling he was a boy, I went out a couple weeks ago and got some pullets to balance the flock. Lol.

Yes! Here’s a research paper that states: “Pea-comb is a dominant mutation in chickens that drastically reduces the size of the comb and wattles. It is an adaptive trait in cold climates as it reduces heat loss and makes the chicken less susceptible to frost lesions.”