When can I tell if I have roosters or hens?

[juliaronan]

Hey,
I bought these baby buffs at 6 weeks of age from the neighbor. (7 weeks now) Even though they are "chicken folk", they told me that they couldn't tell for sure if I was getting hens or roosters...so now I am wondering at what age will I be able to tell? I am noticing changes in one of the bird's tail and I am thinking that "she" is most probably going to be a "he". How and when can I tell?
Julia

 

[Toshi]

The roos will get a bigger cob then the girls which should have no cob just yet. And the boys will get color first, you should post some pics in ''What breed/gender is this'' i thik thats the name of it. Pics help a lot. Should be able to tell about right now, the boys will have bigger cobs as i said, i could tell mine from hen to roo when they were about 10weeks cuz the boys had started to redden out. You should still post pics, if you wnat to get alot of good imput, some on here can tell pretty good.

I posted one up on my GLW who i had thought was a hen, but right away they all said roo...he was a roo.

 

[BarredBuff]

With buffs it seems to take longer, they mature differently. But its usually by 12 weeks........

 

[NightsInWhiteSilkies]

If you really want to know sooner rather than later you can take them in to a vet, preferrebly one who sees aviary and have them clip a portion of their nail and theyll do a dna on it to find out for sure what it is. Im taking mine in next week to do this as Im not wanting to get too attached to any of them onlly to find out one might be a roo.
Just food for thought for you!

 

[nurse_turtle]

Leg size can also be an earlier indicator of gender. Males have thick legs and hens thinner ones. Also, notice their posture or stance. Roosters normally have a higher posture and hens a bit lower to the ground. I have found that juvenile behaviors rarely help indicate gender.

 

[bobbieschicks]

When they lay an egg you'll know for sure they're a pullet. Single combed roosters are easier to pick out because their combs and wattles usually mature faster then the pullets. Post a picture of your chicks on the What's my Gender forum - they'll be able to help.

I have 5 lavender orpingtons and I've pegged 4 as pullets and 1 as a roo. That based solely on comb size & color at week 6. The roo has a much larger and redder comb then the others. My 1st clutch of chickens was a group of white leghorns and they turned out to be 4 roosters & 1 pullet - the combs gave them away. The pullet's comb stayed short and yellowish until she was almost 14 weeks old. The roosters however had large red combs by week 8 & began to crow around that time too.

These chicks are 8 weeks old, the roo is on the far left - the others we believe are pullets - time will tell for sure. I'm still thinking the one standing on the ground is also a roo, but the wattles and comb don't confirm it.

 

[Mahonri]

Yup... when they crow, you'll know it's a cockerel.

When they lay an egg,you'll know it's a pullet.

or post pics of them here, you'll get lots of opionions... guaranteed.