tail feathers ? ?

[enola]

I bought chicks at TSC. They are 2 weeks old now. 5 of them have tail feathers about 3/4 of an inch long and one barely, and I mean barely has tail feathers at all. PLEASE tell me I don't have 5 roosters !!!!

 

[sherrydeanne]

With a lot of breeds, roosters tend to feather in slower. Of course, that's not holding true for my EE's LOL. I wouldn't panic yet, there's probably a better chance that it's 5 pullets and one cockeral, and an even better chance that's it's completely random.

 

[jossanne]

Last year in my rainbow layers order, I had one chick who had almost no feathers while the rest were nearly feathered out. It stood like a boy, was huge and heavy, and I was sure it was a cockerel.

Today she's my prettiest pullet, a big, beautiful golden-laced wyandotte.

So don't count your roosters before they crow... or something else obvious.

 

[Kanat]

I have 2 4 week old Speckled Sussex chiks and the one is LARGE and has a lot of feathers and has a very long and fluffy tail. "She" stands tall. The other one is small and has lighther head. Her tail is much smaller.

I also have one Partridge Rock chick who has almost no tail and she is the smallest. Nobody has any comb development yet. Should it soon start to grow if any of them were roos?

These photos were taken 3 days ago.

Please tell me that they are all pullets!!!!

Would it be an explanation that the large one would have been stronger from the start and grown "faster" or do I have to be prepared thet she is a he?

BTW, they are sexed chicks from McMurray.

Thanks!

 

[Kanat]

If the tail is V-shaped, like my large Sussex has, is it a roo?

 

[silkiechicken]

Tail feathers mean nothing unless you know for a fact that the chicks were bred to be feather sexed. Even then though, the slow feathering trait does not always go to the baby boys. So I wouldn't worry about it one bit. Start looking at feathers for indications of gender at 12+ weeks old.

 

[Kanat]

Thanks!

The only think to do, I quess, is to wait patiently.

(I am just already hating the idea that I have a roo that I cannot keep. This already happened. Luckily, the roo got the best kind of place to live, and I gave away him with his favorite hen...)

The reason I got young chicks again is that I really wanted Speckled Sussexes, and they are hard to find....