three 8 wk old EEs and a mutt --- gender??

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ActionMom42

ActionMom42

Hatching
Oct 12, 2015
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We hatched extra eggs to end up with 8 hens. I'd like to cull and eat the less friendly roos if I was sure of gender. In question are the three black & white EEs (one quite a bit darker than the other two) that are 8 weeks old.
We also have a 9-wk old unknown breed mottled red/brown/black (fertilized egg from mixed breed backyard flock) that is super sweet and I can't cull regardless of gender, but I sure hope is a girl. Any thoughts on breed and gender would make our world easier to manage; Thanks!!

The left bird is larger; been calling him "Cop-per" bc black & white like police car (guessing roo?). Right bird is "Mini-Me" (guessing hen?).


Molybdenum (Moly) EE:


Cop-per and Mini-Me


Cop-per


Sweet mutt with EEs in background:



Thanks for sharing your expertise!
 
I would guess they are all cockerels. All these birds' combs (except mini-me) are getting red--hens faces/combs/wattles don't get red until about 16-18 weeks of age, right before they start to lay. The only reason I would group mini-me as a cockerel is because of his pointed hackle feathers. I can't see them too well in the pic though. But all the others are most likely cockerels. They're pretty chickens!
 
beetandsteet said:
I would guess they are all cockerels. All these birds' combs (except mini-me) are getting red--hens faces/combs/wattles don't get red until about 16-18 weeks of age, right before they start to lay. The only reason I would group mini-me as a cockerel is because of his pointed hackle feathers. I can't see them too well in the pic though. But all the others are most likely cockerels. They're pretty chickens!
Click to expand...
agreed and
welcome-byc.gif
 
Dang...... Out of 14 eggs hatched it looks like we only got 4 hens. How reliable is the reddness of the comb and waddles for sexing at this age (if you were giving it a percentage reliability)? I'm also looking at foot/leg size, and i can start to see the more pointed feather shape on the upper neck and in the saddle feathers that are just erupting (is that the right word?) underneath the teenager feathers on the saddle of the EEs.

Three of the roos are the most curious, friendly, cuddly sweet birds; what a hard dilemma! I had no idea roosters could be so easy to get attached to. :/

On the reddish mutt bird (who is 9 weeks old) the neck feathers are not pointy, and I don't see any pointy saddle feathers starting to erupt. Pretty big feet though. Is there a chance it might be a she, or is that just wishful thinking??
 
ActionMom42 said:
We hatched extra eggs to end up with 8 hens. I'd like to cull and eat the less friendly roos if I was sure of gender. In question are the three black & white EEs (one quite a bit darker than the other two) that are 8 weeks old.
We also have a 9-wk old unknown breed mottled red/brown/black (fertilized egg from mixed breed backyard flock) that is super sweet and I can't cull regardless of gender, but I sure hope is a girl. Any thoughts on breed and gender would make our world easier to manage; Thanks!!

The left bird is larger; been calling him "Cop-per" bc black & white like police car (guessing roo?). Right bird is "Mini-Me" (guessing hen?).
Cockerel on the left, pullet on the right.

Molybdenum (Moly) EE:
Cockerel.

Cop-per and Mini-Me
Copper on the left, pullet on the right.

Cop-per
Cockerel.

Sweet mutt with EEs in background:
I could go either way on this one.


Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Click to expand...
 
ActionMom42 said:
Dang...... Out of 14 eggs hatched it looks like we only got 4 hens. How reliable is the reddness of the comb and waddles for sexing at this age (if you were giving it a percentage reliability)? I'm also looking at foot/leg size, and i can start to see the more pointed feather shape on the upper neck and in the saddle feathers that are just erupting (is that the right word?) underneath the teenager feathers on the saddle of the EEs.

Three of the roos are the most curious, friendly, cuddly sweet birds; what a hard dilemma! I had no idea roosters could be so easy to get attached to. :/

On the reddish mutt bird (who is 9 weeks old) the neck feathers are not pointy, and I don't see any pointy saddle feathers starting to erupt. Pretty big feet though. Is there a chance it might be a she, or is that just wishful thinking??
Click to expand...
I'd say the reliability for sexing with the redness of the face/comb/wattles would be pretty high--maybe 90% + ? At this age also the roosters start growing larger than the hens, and exhibit rooster behaviors like sparring among each other, attempting to crow, mounting the hens, etc. I understand about getting attached! I love roosters too.
You may have a chance of your mutt bird being a hen, but not likely. Observe him/her for a few more weeks.
 
The EE (black and white) birds are all cockerels. 100% positive.

My first impression on the calico bird was cockerel, but looking again I'm just not sure. there's not much comb, and I'm not seeing darker red patches on the wings. Then again, the age is too young for sex feathers, so you'll just have to wait and see on this one. It's a beautiful color either way
smile.png
 

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