10 day old chicks, male or female?

likepuppy14

Hatching
May 23, 2025
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On May 20th my broody Australorp hatched 4 chicks. Three of them have survived to 10 days and seem to be doing well. Is it too early to tell if they’re all female? Rooster was a silkie, moms are most likely all backyard mixes. My rooster had three favorites that he regularly mounted and they are all brown egg backyard mixes. I don’t believe my Australorp ever laid a fertile egg, she just likes to get broody.


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Yes, they are too young to determine gender. Unless they're a sexlink cross or an autosexing breed you will probably have to wait about 6 weeks for secondary sex characteristics to start appearing. Sometimes you can tell cockerels before then if their comb and wattles develop early, and some chicks keep you guessing for much longer.
 
Chicks are now 6.5 weeks old. I think I have 2 females and 1 male. However, since dad was a silkie I’m not sure if the 2 I think are females are actually slower developing males. Thoughts?
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