Brabanter Chicks--are there gender clues in the feather colors?

[LavendarFeather]

I know these aren't the greatest photos for trying to tell gender, but some of these babies have a brighter coloration than others, and I was wondering if the flashier ones might be males...does anyone know? These are my first Brabanters, and they're almost 3 weeks old.

 

[hallerlake]

Brabanters are hard to sex. You just have to wait for the combs to start developing.

May I ask where you got your Brabanters? There's a person on Ebay, NOT WindyIslandPeeps, who lets her cream and gold Brabanters run together. Her chicks could be cream, gold, or mixes. That would account for different coloration.

PS. There is now a Brabanter page on Facebook.

 

[LavendarFeather]

Brabanters are hard to sex. You just have to wait for the combs to start developing.

May I ask where you got your Brabanters? There's a person on Ebay, NOT WindyIslandPeeps, who lets her cream and gold Brbanaters run together. Her chicks could be cream, gold, or mixes. That would account for different coloration.

PS. There is now a Brabanter page on Facebook.

I got these as eggs from ShowMeSilkies. They are just cream. I looked at them more closely--some have more black on them than others, so that seems to be what's making the difference in their appearance. Thank you for responding to my question. I kind of figured I'd have to wait...just thought it was worth a try to ask...

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: Dave has good birds. He's in the Facebook Brabanter club.

Yes, the amount of black makes a difference in appearance. It wiil be about four months before you'll know what kind of feathering they have. It changes somewhat with every molt.

 

[LavendarFeather]

Dave has good birds. Yes, the amount of black makes a difference in appearance. It wiil be about four months before you'll know what kind of feathering they have. It changes somewhat with every molt.

Well, that's part of the fun of chickens, right? I feel like I'm always waiting for some sort of surprise--what sex they'll be, what color, when they will lay, what the eggs will look like, how many will hatch... I love it, it reminds me of Christmas as a child. Glad to know Dave has a reputation for good birds. He was very nice to deal with when I purchased the eggs. Now I'm just hoping I've got at least two girls and at least one boy.

Actually, there's one that I'm pretty sure is a boy. Stands tall, out in front, investigates everything. But you never know... They're funny chicks. They're in with some Silkies a week older, and both the Brabanters and the Silkies like to run across the pen and leap into the middle of all the chicks, landing on top of them.

 

[hallerlake]

Quote: Be sure to wait about five months before you deciide which ones to keep. You won't really know until them what their markings are going to look like.
The Appenzeller Spitzhauben and Brabanter... the difference thread is the unofficial Brabanter and Spitzhauben thread on BYC. The people there will be happy to advise you.

 

[LavendarFeather]

I will definitely keep them at least 5 months--probably forever! Right now they are 14 weeks. This pullet doesn't have much of a crest, but LOVE the markings on her tail. Do you think she'll keep those?

 

[taterbug41]

Nice looking chicks...

 

[hdowden]

you will know gender for sure by 17 weeks of age due to feather development...as for the color it may or may not stay with her first molt

 

[LavendarFeather]

you will know gender for sure by 17 weeks of age due to feather development...as for the color it may or may not stay with her first molt

Oh thanks! Gender has actually already revealed itself--those boys are crowing away and have bright red combs and flashy saddle feathers The picture I posted today was an update--I'm just hoping that pullet keeps her tail markings.