What gender are these chickens? Beginers here.

[redink]

Hello. We bought 4 chickens at 4 weeks old and we have had them about 4 weeks, so 8 weeks at present. The one tan one with the bigger comb and the dark brown one with a slight comb have started to squable in the past week, pecking at each other and jumping up and down like a fight, but nothing serious. They seem to make up and all sleep well in the coop. They are supposed to be Rhode Islands crossed with Austroloops we think.

We have tried the ourselves and our opinions change each time we try and determine if we should buy another one or two in case we have a rooster or two. We only want 4 at most to start with. They are in a 75 x 8 run divided into 3 areas. 2 sides about 30 with the center about 10 that has the coop in it. I switch them weekly to graze while the other side gets a rest.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Percheron chick]

I'd say #3 is a roo. Pullets can be confrontational and be very demonstrative so don't read too much into who he's battling with. The other 3 look more like girls.

 

[donrae]

I see one boy for sure. Pretty sure the rest are girls.

 

[redink]

Thanks for your thoughts. Looking forward to some fresh eggs in a few months, and maybe a fresh chicken dinner. We are smack in the middle of the city so the roo will have to go. He is a girly boy though and scared of everything except the other chickens.

 

[Vonduganboxers]

Good luck! I'm a beginner too!

 

[trsturself]

Can you get better pics of the saddle and hackle feathers? You can't go by comb alone especially if you don't know the breed. It has a pullet stance and the feathers look like a pullet to me but it's hard to tell in those pics.

 

[donrae]

Can you get better pics of the saddle and hackle feathers? You can't go by comb alone especially if you don't know the breed. It has a pullet stance and the feathers look like a pullet to me but it's hard to tell in those pics.

8 weeks is too young for consistent hackle or saddle feathers. You can absolutely go by comb alone, not even a leghorn pullet has that much red in the comb at 8 weeks.

 

[trsturself]

sorry, I meant size not color. At 8 wks my barred rock had a lot more red and a much bigger comb than any of my other pullets. If I had gone by that I would've gotten rid of her. My little partridge rock (6 wks younger than my other rock) is also growing her comb much faster than the other chicks she's with and it has a lot more color. But she's still a girl.
The pictures look like they have a red tint to them so I was thinking maybe the comb wasn't really that dark. The posture still looks pullet to me but maybe he/she just wasn't standing up all the way? The legs don't look thicker either. So hard to tell in pictures.
I've heard the saddle and hackle feathers will be more pointed at 5 weeks. Have you experienced differently? Trying to learn all I can!