7 week old chicks- what breed and gender???

[sfarrell3]

We are brand new to all things chicken. My daughter's class hatched a bunch of chicks and we brought them home on a whim. This has all been a huge, but fun learning experience. We have 9 chickens that are just about 7 weeks old. We have no idea what breed they are or the gender, though I know that can be harder to tell. We heard one of them crow a couple days ago, but haven't heard him again and don't know which one it was. We are 99% sure we have at least two roosters. I would love to hear your thoughts on breed and/or gender! Thanks!

The two favorites...we are pretty sure the one my son is holding is a rooster. The one my daughter is holding is a complete mystery to us. It is the only one that doesn't look like all the others. The second picture is also the suspected rooster. He(?) is the leader of the pack, definitely the dominant one in the group.





This is the other suspect rooster. He and the one above go at it a lot.


And some pictures of the others. Most of them look almost identical. Some have white tipped wings. There are two black/reddish ones. Would love to know what we have!




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[modchicken]

Hmm the first 2 look like rooster to me too. I'm not an expert though! Just found out that 2 of my pullets are roos! Looks liek you have maybe red stars, rhode island reds, isa browns, and not sure what the dark coloring is from. Wait for some more responses! The others looks like hens to me!

 

[Happy Chooks]

I see a lot of cockerels.

Picture 1 - your son has a cockerel
Picture 2 - if that bird is 7 weeks old, it's a cockerel
Picture 3 - cockerel
Picture 4 - 3 pullets
Picture 5 - cockerels at 11, 3 and 7 o'clock. Also a cockerel at the top of the picture.
Picture 6 - cockerel

 

[akcountrygrrl]

I see a lot of cockerels.

Picture 1 - your son has a cockerel
Picture 2 - if that bird is 7 weeks old, it's a cockerel
Picture 3 - cockerel
Picture 4 - 3 pullets
Picture 5 - cockerels at 11, 3 and 7 o'clock. Also a cockerel at the top of the picture.
Picture 6 - cockerel

x2

 

[Habibs Hens]

I see a lot of cockerels.

Picture 1 - your son has a cockerel
Picture 2 - if that bird is 7 weeks old, it's a cockerel
Picture 3 - cockerel
Picture 4 - 3 pullets
Picture 5 - cockerels at 11, 3 and 7 o'clock. Also a cockerel at the top of the picture.
Picture 6 - cockerel

x3

 

[Coop de Grille]

I see a lot of cockerels.

Picture 1 - your son has a cockerel
Picture 2 - if that bird is 7 weeks old, it's a cockerel
Picture 3 - cockerel
Picture 4 - 3 pullets
Picture 5 - cockerels at 11, 3 and 7 o'clock. Also a cockerel at the top of the picture.
Picture 6 - cockerel

Agree
1. Production Red Cockerel and your daughter has an Easter Egger.
2. Production Red Cockerel (Is this the same one your son is holding in first pic??)
3. Cockerel, looks like an Easter Egger.
4. Three pullets, Production Red on the left, Red Star on the right and Easter Egger in the front.
5. agree with the quoted above
6.Production Red Cockerel

 

[sfarrell3]

Very helpful! Thank you! Yes, the chicken my son is holding is the same as the one in the second picture. And we suspected that both black/red ones are roosters but my husband is really hoping that one is a hen. So, can I ask, how you can tell the difference??? Are the cockerels just bigger? Is there something I should be looking for? Thank you again!

 

[modchicken]

The cockerels develop their comb at a young age and on the pullets they stay skin colored for a long time and on the cockerels they turn bright red. The cockerels have thick legs and they have pointy tail feathers. These are a couple things I have heard! I'm new at this as well! I may not be 100% right on this!!!

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Very helpful! Thank you! Yes, the chicken my son is holding is the same as the one in the second picture. And we suspected that both black/red ones are roosters but my husband is really hoping that one is a hen. So, can I ask, how you can tell the difference??? Are the cockerels just bigger? Is there something I should be looking for? Thank you again!

Cockerels will develop a bigger and redder face at an earlier age. The pullets won't develop a big red face until about POY (Point Of Lay) which can be anywhere from 16 weeks on.
The cockerels will also develop some long pointy tail feathers (I believe the correct term for these is sickle feathers). Also thicker legs can be another sign. But I haven't found it to be as accurate as the other clues.

Good Luck with them!

 

[sfarrell3]

Good to know....I'd never heard about the differences in face. We were just guessing based on size and which ones had big combs. Really hoping we end up with 4 hens out of the 9....which, from the above, it sounds like we might!