Do hen chicks really get their wing and tail feathers first?

[Newwell]

I am the proud mama of 6 Buffs & 2 RIR's, 3 week old chicks. I bought them from a farm store & I'm hoping that we got hens. This is my first attempt at raising chickens & I'm loving it. One of the Buffs is not like the rest, he/she has a very red comb that is growing & just starting to get tail feathers, while the others have buff color comb that aren't growing yet & have tail feathers that are about an inch long now. So hopefully I have 7 hens & 1 roo, & not the other way around.
Happy chicken raising

 

[themenagerie]

I'm fairly new to chickens, but of the 30 chicks I've had so far..it's been true of some. but not all. My two orpington roos developed wing & tail feathers much later than most of the girls, though my Speckled Sussex hens didn't develop their tails until much later than the other pullets. RIght now I have six sexed Welsummer pullets, they're two weeks old. I have a gut feeling that one is a Roo, but he/she's feathered in as quickly as everyone else.

 

[Reyvaughn]

With your RIRs, I think you'll have to wait until they are 4-6wks old. The cockerels will have noticeable wattles and combs. Feather sexing doesn't work with everyone. I have 3 blue Orps and two were tailless and one had a tail at 2wks old. They are all cockerels. My Lav Orp Cockerel is tailless still, at almost 10wks old. My wheaten/blue wheaten Ameraucanas all seem to feather in the same, so I have to wait until they are 3-5wks and their color comes in (so glad their color is different by gender)!

 

[theoldchick]

This group is about two weeks old:

Three week old cockerel on left:

Nearly 4 weeks here:

The amount of dust chicks produce while getting feathers is astonishing! And young chicks spend alot of time preening, pooping, and eating!

 

[Newwell]

Well, today our "rooster" baby, we think, started sounding a whole LOT different from all the others. RAWK-RAWK!!!! instead of cheep-cheep. It's comb is remarkably darker red & growing quickly. The other 7 have light color combs, almost beige, and they aren't growing yet. Plus I can see the beginnings of what looks like little red waddles. It's tail feathers are still very short - 1/2 inch at most. I know that at 3 weeks it is very difficult to tell, but watching them closely as I do, there are notable differences even an "attitude". I guess we'll really have to wait for the first crow. (I will be able to post pics soon when I get my 20 posts.) Oh well, a rooster in the flock may be a real asset, and we don't have to worry about ordinances, thank goodness.

 

[theoldchick]

Cardboard Chicken, was my chick with the least chick down....

Grew into a fine pullet....

She consistently lays double yolk eggs.

 

[Newwell]

Well, here's the one we think is our roo of the bunch. This was taken a week ago & "his" comb is even bigger & redder now, & the tail feathers are starting to come in now. (Teeny combs that are tan on the others & tail feathers about 2" long.)
He still "Rawks" while the other still "cheep".
Has quite an attitude, wouldn't you say?

 

[themenagerie]

I received six Welsummer "pullets" from MPC three weeks ago. One of them has been larger and more assertive than the others from the beginning, but feathered in just as quickly as all the others. He's getting his chest feathers, and feathering in black and red like a cockerel instead of salmon like a pullet should be. So..in his case, he had no delayed feathering.

 

[WitchPrincess]

The best way to tell roosters from hens very early is to pick them up with two fingers one DIRECTLY behind each wing at the TOP only fingertips on chicks. if their legs point straight down they are hens if they point forward, with the knee joint bent, they are roosters. THIS IS NOT AN OLD WIVES TALE THEIR LEGS POINT THESE DIRECTIONS AS A SCIENTIFIC RESULT OF THEIR PELVIS SHAPE(a hen's being wider for laying) this method has a 90-99% success rate and is how breeders and feed stores tell. They will squirm but will eventually calm down, my pullets all passed the straight leg test if you need further proof!

 

[silverchick]

I gave in and bought 3 chicks today at Coastal Farm. The guy told me some thing about how the wing feathers overlap in the chicks. He said mine were all pullets, though he just does it for fun. I'm not sure I trust his technique, but it'll be interesting to see!

I read somewhere that 'feather sexing' is reliable for SOME breeds, NOT all ...but am under the impression it must be done in the first few days ...don't really know myself