Rhode Island Reds

[Andrew S.]

I know these aren't gamebirds, but I hatched them and have a question.  Does anybody know how many weeks it takes before you can tell the difference between a rooster and a hen?  

Thanks
Andrew S.

[pennys dad]

HEY THOSE REDS WILL HAVE TO BE ABOUT 10 WEEKS OLD BEFORE I CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE. LOOK FOR  THE LARGER WADDLES AND COMB ON THE COCKS. IF NOT YOU CAN TELL WHEN THEY START CROWING. IT SOUNDS MORE LIKE YELLING THOUGH HOPE THIS HELPS

[koboa]

10 to 12 weeks my Rhode Island Reds are 3 months old you can tell the difference easily.

[deadeye1]

I don't know if this is true or not,But an old timer told me about 60 years ago if you take the chicks and hang them from their feet and watch which way they point their heads.Curld up or sticking straight out.One way  is the rooster and visa versa.I think the rooster curls his head up and the hen keeps her head down.Any body ever heard of that

[Fencerow]

Hi,
I'm brand new and don't know how to post w/out replying...and
this is related to chickens, so hope you don't mind:
We have been seeing a female quail coming into our chicken yard to eat w/ our chickens in the mornings for about a month.
Our chicken yard has an old and well-established fencerow next to it.
We assume that's where she'd been living.
However, more and more she comes out into the chicken yard to be
with the chickens, and to our amazement, for the last 3 nights, has been roosting inside with our chickens!  She started doing that when we got our first snow.  The chickens don't bother her, and she seems to like the security of being with them.  I haven't seen any other quail around for years. (We live in Ohio.)
Anyone ever hear of a quail domesticating itself like this?
Thanks for any input.  We have a new interest in quail conservation, now, thanks to her...
fr

[faro]

I have a Gambel's male right now that is living with my chickens.....but he was hatched here on my farm and got loose. He was not a "wild" quail. He decided to live with the chickens, and I will let him until breeding season....then he goes back with the quail.

Your quail may not be a "wild" quail either. It may have gotten loose from a neighbor that raises them, and found your chickens. They became his "flock". I only say this because you say you have not seen any wild quail in your area.

[birdyboy89]

It is about 3 weeks when i can tell if a chick is going to be a cock or a hen. but it just depends on what kind they are to me.