1 week old chick sparring

[Chickenwithnobrim]

So is sparring this early a good indication of being a rooster?
They are exactly 8 days old. My one chick tried to spar today with its siblings, full kicks and neck poof. It was ridiculous seeing a ball of fluff karate kicking. Im already calling it a he because hes the most cuddly and bonded to me, and ive seen that often these chicks turn out to be roos.
Hes certainly not super aggresive and other than today they all just use little face pecks to determine their order. They get a full nights sleep and i use a mama heat pad so they can warm up and cool down. Ive heard toe pecking is bad and they sometimes do it, but its not from aggression just curiosity... once they remember what toes are they stop.
So... rooster or no rooster? Who wants to guess?? Hes the big yellow one

 

[fluffycrow]

Do you know the breeds? My gamefowl lover side is SUPER interested

 

[Sally PB]

I have a 50-50 chance of being right. I say cockerel.

 

[Chickenwithnobrim]

Do you know the breeds? My gamefowl lover side is SUPER interested

They are ameraucana! One black, one splash, one blue

 

[fluffycrow]

Really interesting! Definitely keep us updated

 

[Yardmom]

Pullets do spare, but I think cockerals spare more.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Even hen chicks will do some sparring right up to adult They jump and bump at each other all the time. Just establishing a pecking order. Some time rooster ain't the top Hat. SallyPB is right, there is a 50/50 chance.

 

[SourRoses]

I've never seen a chick kick, that's the weird part.

Normally they have face-offs, regardless of gender, where they stretch their necks up tall and threaten to peck, which is usually enough to determine who has more confidence.

Rivals fighting is not a sign of general temperament.
My 2 gentlest roosters, nice to hens and people, frequently attack the dividing fence, even though one of them, Clifford the Orp, has had other roosters fly in with him and doesn't seem to mind. It's just those two, I think they've called each other's moms bad names.

When my Genetic Hackle roosters were teenagers working things out, they would wrap their necks around each other and push until someone won.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

I've never seen a chick kick, that's the weird part.

Normally they have face-offs, regardless of gender, where they stretch their necks up tall and threaten to peck, which is usually enough to determine who has more confidence.

Rivals fighting is not a sign of general temperament.
My 2 gentlest roosters, nice to hens and people, frequently attack the dividing fence, even though one of them, Clifford the Orp, has had other roosters fly in with him and doesn't seem to mind. It's just those two, I think they've called each other's moms bad names.

When my Genetic Hackle roosters were teenagers working things out, they would wrap their necks around each other and push until someone won.

Don't bad mouth Mom!!

 

[sourland]

I agree with 50/50 chance it's a cockerel.