when do i know what their sex is?

[sully707]

i have just purchaced 5 chicks and i am wondering when i can tell what sex they are.

 

[Master S.M.C]

On average you can tell at about 6-8 weeks maybe as little as a month depending on the breed.

 

[jossanne]

What kind are they?

My bantam cochins were obvious which were which at 3 weeks old. The males already had red combs and wattles coming in. I've seen many other single-combed birds who are also obvious pretty early. Watch comb and wattle color, and that will give you one of your earliest clues.

Some other breeds with rosecombs and peacombs are harder to tell.

 

[sully707]

americanus and Leghorn. they are about 2-3 weeks now. curious little guys.

 

[jossanne]

The leghorns will be really easy to sex. The males get big combs very early. The females get big combs as well, but they won't grow as quickly as the males.

The ameraucanas (or maybe they're easter eggers) will be a little harder to sex, with their pea combs. Males will get bigger, redder combs earlier than the females, and they'll start showing signs of rooster in their saddle feathers at the base of their tail, and sickle-shaped tail feathers. Saddle feathers will get pointy and longer.

 

[sully707]

Cool. thanks for the info. I cant keep roosters where im at, so finding out which ones are which early on will keep me from getting so attached to them.

 

[Chickapooh23]

Ameraucanas or Easter Eggers are very easy to sex. At 2-3 wks you can see their very small comb. If it is a single line it is a pullet and if it has three lines parallel to each other they are cockerels.

 

[sully707]

So i think i got a handle on the leghorns, but the americanus. tuff to tell. he's(not sure yet) real aggressive with the leghorns and is comb is not so obvious yet.
so to my next question... do male chicks show more aggression than the females? If thats the case, i got 3 roos and 2 pulls. Its easier to tell steelhead apart.

 

[klf73]

Quote:
not 100% accurate. I have an true ameraucana roo that at 5 months still looks like a pullet by the comb, but the sickle feathers tell the truth....
But it can give you a reasonable good idea.....

3 rows early have always been roos, but there is the chance you can get a slow maturing roo...