What gender is this W.C. Polish?

[verthandi]

I really hope she is a hen, but here is my reasoning on the crest shape not being a good indicator of gender. A polish chick with good genetics will have a nicely shaped head just like your chicken, no matter what gender they are at this age. Your bird is a nice polish and I am going to keep my fingers crossed that I am not correct and she grows up to be a hen and lays lots of eggs.

trick question...hen or roo? 7 weeks old.

 

[perfectly_polish]

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Your polish looks like a hen, nice rounded crest and no wattles. That is true about the crest and genetics, but correct me if I'm wrong, her polish came from a hatchery? So really anything is possible with hatchery birds.

 

[verthandi]

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This guy's grandparents came from a hatchery. I was lucky to get a trio of birds with very nice heads. He is the rooster in my avatar. His name is Boogie and it looks like he wrecked one of his tail feathers in this photo...oops. And you are correct hatchery birds can be less than perfect, but there are still some nice ones that make their way to homes and work out well for breeding stock.

The younger Boogie photo isn't that clear colorwise. But if you look at the very top of his beak (the fleshy cere part) it is starting to turn a pinkish color, it will turn brighter red over 7 to 9 weeks of age. The earliest sign that I have ever seen that they will be male when trying to sex Polish.