Which is a better indicater of a rooster, comb size...or comb color?

Pet Duck Boy

Songster
10 Years
Dec 12, 2009
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Orlando, FL
I'm still freaking out if my 5 supposed to be pullets are really pullets. So far I'm 95% sure im safe....but that 5% of doubt is bugging me. At the moment I don't have the camera, so maybe tomorrow I'll snap some pics. Also, the 5 chicks I'm talking about are 8 weeks old either today or tomorrow for sure. My 3rd RIR, Big Red was always thought to be a pullet, and I'm still sure she is...BUT his/her comb is larger than the other 2 RIRs. Not huge, but not small....more medium sized. Not to mention his/her wattles also hang lower than the others. It doesn't look totally rooish...and the reason I say that is they are still yellow. Whenever she gets excited they may have a *tint* of pink....but it's not very prominent...and you'd have to look close to see it. I'd say Big Red's comb and wattle color is the lightest of the 3. Everything else screams pullet, hen stance, lower in the pecking order, round saddles, fast to feather out, etc.. So what do ya think? Is comb size more important than comb color, or the other way around?
 
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It sounds like you're borrowing trouble
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Honestly, at 8 weeks it would be comb color (for RIR's, for me, personally) as well as feather (especially tail) growth. They're like kids, they grow differently. It doesn't sound like you have anything ot worry about, but if you want to post a pic we can take a look. At 8 weeks a RIR roo will stand out from your pullets.
 
My very first chickens were 4 RIR's - I had no idea what I was doing - at 5 weeks old it was really obvious I had a roo

compared to the girls his comb was huge
 

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