Dominique? Perhaps Dominic...

So we're starting to wonder whether one of our Dominiques is a male. When I ordered my chicks, I purchased only pullets (females). The chicks are sexed at birth, and usually they are pretty accurate, but sometimes males do slip through.

The kids named the biggest and fastest chick Google (go figure!), and she/he is really the only one we can distinguish from the other Dominiques because of both size and the markings on his head. While all the other Dominiques have black heads with a fairly distinct white or yellow spot, Google's spot is less distinct and more scattered -- almost as if he has gone prematurely gray.

I then started reading about sex-linked characteristics of Dominiques and found out that the head spot on the cockerels (males) is larger and more scattered, while the pullets' head spot is smaller and more compact. Not only that, but the cockerels have yellow shanks (legs), while the pullets have a grayish or blackish coloration on the shanks and toes. Well guess what??? All the other Dominiques have a blackish coloring on their legs, but not our Google, who as you can see in the picture has nice yellow legs. Hmmm....

Dominique or Dominic? Only time will tell!

Secretly, I'm excited about the possibility of accidentally getting a rooster to throw in mix. Unfortunately, I'm not sure our neighbors are going to feel the same when the crowing begins at sun up...