Rhode Island Red Chicks that seem different....anyone know why?

[rjbokleman]

I've begun my adventure into Backyard Chickens and recieved my 6 ladies about a week ago now. All are doing very well. I started this winter by reading the Raising Chickens for Dummies book and got hooked. I now have 2 - Rhode Island Reds, 2 - Barred Rocks, and 2 - Buff Orpingtons.

I'm enclosing a photo of the Rhode Island Reds, but want to ask about their feather differences now that they are a week old. One has shorter wings and one longer wings and they appear to be developing at different rates. One with tail feathers already and the other not.

Is this typical even from the same hatchery or is one a male perhaps?



Notice the one on the left has short stubby wings and no tail, the one on the right has long, long wings (longest of the 6 chicks even) and tail feathers already after 7 days.

 

[LeghornLisa]

I'm not really sure, I received 6 chicks last year, 2 each of 3 different breeds and honestly they developed differently. I spent a lot of time watching them and comparing them...4 of them were girls. The ones I was not concerned about turned out to be boys! Maybe someone more familiar with the Rhode Island Reds will be able to help, good luck.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

The slow feathering one is probably going to be a cockerel. I've had RIR's for many years and in my experience the males seem to feather out at about half the rate of the females. You can't always tell this way but most of the time this is the way it is.

 

[rjbokleman]

I had a bad feeling this might be the case...I specifically paid for all females though I suppose this is a tricky thing to do/guarantee. I'll keep track of these two and see if "She" turns out to be a "He".

How many weeks old will they need to be before I'll know for sure? 8 weeks, 20 weeks?

 

[redrocketrooster]

Quote:
8 weeks most likely. I thought I had a cockerel but low and behold my tree trunk legged freak just went threw a growth spurt.
After about weeks 6 I was able to say it was a pullet. You'll notice with males they feather out slower, their combs and wattles are larger and their legs plus their tall stature is 'manly'.

Contact the hatchery NOW. Like now, now! So they know they have screwed up and ask what they might be able to do for you.

 

[trunkman]

whether they are hens or roos I think you will enjoy watching them grow. I just went to tsc and bought 7 chicks all of which are supposed to be females and after having them for a little over a week now have also noticed some of them are developing just like yours but at this point it really doesn't matter to me even tho I wanted just hens. Maybe I'm just addicted, I don't know.

 

[redrocketrooster]

Quote:
Of course it is fun to watch them and you do love them regardless but if you get a roo when you wanted a hen, that is a problem.
Especially if you aren't allowed to have it! I get what your saying though, it is a hoot!

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

You can bet that the slower one is a boy

 

[Tala]

I had two RIR cockerels, and neither of them had one darn tailfeather while ALL of my pullets had these fluffy little tails growing in.

If you look closely you should be able to tell that a male's legs are thicker than the female's. There's always the quickly-reddening comb too.

 

[rjbokleman]

Quote:
Of course it is fun to watch them and you do love them regardless but if you get a roo when you wanted a hen, that is a problem.
Especially if you aren't allowed to have it! I get what your saying though, it is a hoot!

If this is true, that means I’ll be short about 200 eggs and possibly annoying the neighbors with the crowing. I did warn my only neighbor and she told me how her mother use to raise chickens, so most likely it won't be an issue for them. On the other hand, I guess I could always try and learn how to hatch my own next year!

I did some checking just now and their legs are different as well. The suspected male seems to have slightly thicker legs and feet than the suspected female. Like you've said, it's still fun.