There's a special kind of madness that comes with staring at a flock of nine-week-old Ameraucanas and trying to play "pullet or cockerel?", and we are absolutely here for it. Redditor bawdybard21 has posed this very guessing game to the community, and honestly, it's one of the most relatable cluck-tastic dilemmas we've seen in a while. With seven chicks, only two confirmed pullets (those barred rock crosses are a dead giveaway), and a hard limit of two keepers, the pressure is on. It's a situation that feels a lot like the one in When grown chicks come home to roost, mom still runs the coop, except here, the chicks aren't grown yet, and the stakes are about which ones *get* to stay. We think this is exactly the kind of fowl play that makes chicken keeping both egg-citing and anxiety-inducing, and bawdybard21 is smart to ask for help before those combs get any redder.
Here's our blunt take: you cannot reliably sex Ameraucanas at nine weeks by looks alone, and anyone who says otherwise is selling you a feather duster. The barred rock cross pullets are a safe bet, but the remaining five purebreds? Those little fluffy butts could go either way, and the difference between a sweet egg-layer and a teenage rooster crowing at dawn is a gamble most of us have lost before. That's why we love that bawdybard21 is crowdsourcing guesses, it turns a stressful guessing game into a community event, complete with the shared vulnerability of admitting, "I don't actually know what I'm looking at." It's a far cry from the confidence-ruffling beauty of the hen in This cluck-tastic hen is so beautiful she might just ruffle your confidence, but it's just as honest. The practical takeaway here is simple: if you're in the same boat, take photos every week, compare combs and wattles, and listen for the first practice crow. And if you're rehoming the extras, be upfront that you're not 100% sure, because a surprise rooster is how you end up with a lonely bird like the one in The Loneliest Rooster: A Plucked Pal Needs a Flock Friend, and nobody wants that.
What we really appreciate here is the honesty. Bawdybard21 isn't pretending to have x-ray vision or a secret chicken-gender app, they're saying "I know two for sure, and the rest? Your guess is as good as mine." That's the kind of vulnerability that builds a real flock community, and it's exactly why we keep coming back to these threads. The concrete detail to watch for? Those two barred rock crosses will likely start laying first, and when they do, the clock starts ticking on the remaining five. If you're bawdybard21, we'd say: mark your calendar for week 16, because that's when feathering, comb growth, and behavior will start giving you real answers. And if you're reading this and have a guess? Drop it in the comments, because nothing says "cluck-tastic" like a dozen strangers arguing over whether a chick's tail feathers look too pointy for a pullet.