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Oh dear, people do love to give away cockerels for free! How old are your chicks now? You might want to post some more/current pics here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/what-breed-or-gender-is-this.15/

Good luck in your new chicken adventure!!
 
Welcome to our community. I hope that you enjoy your time here.

This is a useful link of BYC guides to take a look at announcements-feedback-issues-guides.3 I’d suggest including your location using the guide in that link, if you have not already done so. You can use this link to contact members in your area - Find your State's thread.

Best wishes

Pork Pie
 
FlappyFeathers said:
View attachment 1574381
Oh dear, people do love to give away cockerels for free! How old are your chicks now? You might want to post some more/current pics here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/what-breed-or-gender-is-this.15/

Good luck in your new chicken adventure!!
Click to expand...
I'm hoping that's not the case:fl...
I'm not entirely sure about their age. My husband brought them home on September 12. The younger pic is from that day. He said he was told they were 4-6 weeks at the time.:confused:
I'm planning on taking some pics later today and I will be posting it there, thank you.
 
erinmvan said:
I'm hoping that's not the case:fl...
I'm not entirely sure about their age. My husband brought them home on September 12. The younger pic is from that day. He said he was told they were 4-6 weeks at the time.:confused:
I'm planning on taking some pics later today and I will be posting it there, thank you.
Click to expand...
I'm not very good at determining gender... I've had my own freak-out moments in the past, but all worked out!
whew-1.gif


I just know of a few things to look for to spot a cockerel:
  • early comb & waddle development, bigger/redder than pullets
  • pointy hackle & saddle feathers ( neck and back feathers on girls are rounded)
  • longer tail feathers that start to curve (pullets usually have firm upright tails)
  • much larger legs
But for me, those clues are harder to identify when you have mixed ages and breeds to compare each other with. The folks on the breed/gender forum have more experience.

I hope all your chickies are girls too! Not sure where you got them, but sometimes a reputable breeder will exchange cockerels for you. Feed store and hatchery sexed pullets are usually a 90% guarantee which I've had good luck with. But I've heard way more often than not, craigslist people or others giving away free birds are trying to dump boys, or at least an extra. Some sellers will even add in some freebie "packing peanuts" to add warmth during shipping. It's quite a game... not always to the backyarder's amusement
:barnie

I don't mean to be a downer, I really do wish you the best! :D
 
FlappyFeathers said:
I'm not very good at determining gender... I've had my own freak-out moments in the past, but all worked out! View attachment 1574601

I just know of a few things to look for to spot a cockerel:
  • early comb & waddle development, bigger/redder than pullets
  • pointy hackle & saddle feathers ( neck and back feathers on girls are rounded)
  • longer tail feathers that start to curve (pullets usually have firm upright tails)
  • much larger legs
But for me, those clues are harder to identify when you have mixed ages and breeds to compare each other with. The folks on the breed/gender forum have more experience.

I hope all your chickies are girls too! Not sure where you got them, but sometimes a reputable breeder will exchange cockerels for you. Feed store and hatchery sexed pullets are usually a 90% guarantee which I've had good luck with. But I've heard way more often than not, craigslist people or others giving away free birds are trying to dump boys, or at least an extra. Some sellers will even add in some freebie "packing peanuts" to add warmth during shipping. It's quite a game... not always to the backyarder's amusement
:barnie

I don't mean to be a downer, I really do wish you the best! :D
Click to expand...
I appreciate all the info. Just took some pics of them and posting in gender/breed forum now:fl
 

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