Australorp Roo?

I got five chicks from the pullet bin at Tractor Supply on May 6, and Hoover's told me they would have hatched May 3rd, so that's what I'm going by. We would be 3w+1 today. It was a Friday afternoon and they were the last five left, so I afraid that may have also stacked the "90%" odds against us! Lol

One has a totally clean smooth beak, I'm not questioning at all that she's a hen. There's another bird similar to her, I judged right off the bat to be "head hen" but then started to get rooster suspicions. I'm slightly less worried about it right now, but those two are thick as thieves, always the first to investigate while the other three "blackies" hang back. Three (including the "head hen") have a noticable bit of comb already, but this one's is much more pronounced. S/he seemed to maybe be growing faster, get quite a nice tail in quickly and hold it more erect. I noticed her? today starting to fight / chest bump / stand off a bit thing with the head hen, so I didn't know if that was just a pecking order thing, or a two roos thing, or an early mating behavior thing. This one also loves the roost, now that they have a couple perches in the brooder. 9/10 if all the other four are resting on the ground, this one's perched on the lookout, and trying to check out the Wellies. I thought I was maybe seeing wattles starting, but maybe they just look more like tiny feathers sprouting up. Anywho, without further ado...

Nothing point to cockerel right now. They are a few weeks younger than we recommend sexing them at though. Post updated pics at 6 weeks.

Overo Mare said:

Nothing point to cockerel right now. They are a few weeks younger than we recommend sexing them at though. Post updated pics at 6 weeks.

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I don't see anything that says cockerel yet, but three weeks is very early. Give them more time. Also, pullets can be just as aggressive at that age as cockerels, so you can't really go by behavior for an accurate reading of gender.

JedJackson said:

I don't see anything that says cockerel yet, but three weeks is very early. Give them more time. Also, pullets can be just as aggressive at that age as cockerels, so you can't really go by behavior for an accurate reading of gender.

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Thanks, yeah I wasn't too sure. I guess even with all girls, someone is going to step up and be more protective.

Chipmunk Chicks said:

Thanks, yeah I wasn't too sure. I guess even with all girls, someone is going to step up and be more protective.

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It's just a personality thing at this point. Later on, when the hormones kick in, males can be more aggressive unless they have older members of the flock to keep them in line.

JedJackson said:

I don't see anything that says cockerel yet, but three weeks is very early. Give them more time. Also, pullets can be just as aggressive at that age as cockerels, so you can't really go by behavior for an accurate reading of gender.

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My Blue Australorp boys can be readily ID'd at 3 weeks but they're from Welp, not Hoover's so different lines may be different in speed of maturity. Best to give them a few more weeks.

3KillerBs said:

My Blue Australorp boys can be readily ID'd at 3 weeks but they're from Welp, not Hoover's so different lines may be different in speed of maturity. Best to give them a few more weeks.

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That's really interesting! I'll have to check out that hatchery too. Mostly I've been looking at cackle and ideal, as well as my pet chicken, which I heard is just a reseller for... Meyer? McMurray?

3KillerBs said:

My Blue Australorp boys can be readily ID'd at 3 weeks but they're from Welp, not Hoover's so different lines may be different in speed of maturity. Best to give them a few more weeks.

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Do you think they are all pullets? It's early but experience raising that breed gives you a better chance of being accurate.

Chipmunk Chicks said:

That's really interesting! I'll have to check out that hatchery too. Mostly I've been looking at cackle and ideal, as well as my pet chicken, which I heard is just a reseller for... Meyer? McMurray?

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I'm very pleased with the quality of my Welp birds and found their pricing reasonable. However they have a 25 chick minimum and you have to order multiples of 5 per breed so it's a little rigid for a lot of backyarders.

I was able to sell off my extras as POL pullets, but not everyone wants to do that or has the space to raise that many chicks.

I've been very happy with all the chicks I've gotten from Ideal. Just got 12 more today, in fact.

JedJackson said:

Do you think they are all pullets? It's early but experience raising that breed gives you a better chance of being accurate.

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I really can't say. I know people have been surprised at how early I could sex my Blue Australorp boys so I've been really leery of attempting to apply it to anything other than Welp Blues.

This little fellow, the biggest comb at 3 weeks, is now my founding flock sire:



I can't see very clearly in the red-light pictures, but I think I see a couple significant combs in the first and third photos.