When Do Cockerels Wattles Start To Develop?

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At what age do cockerels wattles start to develop?

 

[cherrynberry]

At what age do cockerels wattles start to develop?

Depends on the breed.

 

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Depends on the breed.

Plymouth Rock and Sussex.
Thanks!

 

[cherrynberry]

Plymouth Rock and Sussex.
Thanks!

Depends on the specific bird then. I have had some get wattle growth at about 2 month old and some get them a little later and some earlier. I asked about breeds because a lot of EEs do not get wattles as all.

Post pictures for gender identification. Thats the best way.

 

[Lizzy733]

If you're trying to sex chicks, the boys wattles may start to grow as early as 5 weeks. If you're seeing tiny wattles starting to peek out then, that's a big plus towards being a boy. The girls are usually still flat for a while.

 

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Depends on the specific bird then. I have had some get wattle growth at about 2 month old and some get them a little later and some earlier. I asked about breeds because a lot of EEs do not get wattles as all.

Post pictures for gender identification. Thats the best way.

Okay! Because a few of my Sussex's have reddish wattle lines growing, they are 2 weeks old. But I'll get some photos.

 

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If you're trying to sex chicks, the boys wattles may start to grow as early as 5 weeks. If you're seeing tiny wattles starting to peek out then, that's a big plus towards being a boy. The girls are usually still flat for a while.

I grab some photos. My chicks are 2 weeks old.

Edited to fix spelling mistakes

 

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[Lizzy733]

View attachment 2873316

Yeah, keep an eye on that one. Do you have a few if the same breed? It's best to compare them to each other at this age. You'll notice some may be developing faster in some areas.

2 is a bit too young to really be certain of anything unless you have one that's very obvious. By 4-5 weeks, things should be more apparent.

Girls:
More anxious - skittish
Tail usually starts coming in before the boys
Legs may be thinner
May be smaller
Often stand hunched over
Are usually noisy about being picked up

Boys:
Very outgoing and friendly, quite relaxed about being handled
Often stand upright
May be bigger
May have thicker legs
May feather in slower than the girls
May still be missing feathers on tail and shoulder after girls have feathered out in these areas
Wattles and comb may start growing in early
Will be first to redden up

You can use the above to figure out who's the most likely culprits, but some can be very borderline or show a pretty even mixture of boy/girl traits until they get older.

Silkies are the worst and straight comb breeds are the east. Heavy breeds grow much more slowly, so may take time to confirm. Light breeds can start showing quite early and you may be able to tell as early as 3 weeks for the real fast growers.

 

[cherrynberry]

I grab some photos. My chicks are 2 weeks old.

Edited to fix spelling mistakes

Thats too young to say for sure. Update when they are older!