Silver Laced Wyandotte chicks - help with sexing chick

janetnz60 said:

Hi all.

I have 3 SLW chicks that we bought as fertilised eggs and hatched with our broody Orpington.

I tried feather sexing them at a day old (http://animalsciences.missouri.edu/reprod/ReproTech/Feathersex/sld006.htm) and they all had long primary feathers, so I hoped, if this method could be used on SLWs, they are all pullets.

Two of the chicks are identical (like twins) and I am sure they are pullets. The other one has been different all the way through, from a week old she was much slower to grow/feather and from talking and reading I came to the conclusion she was from a pullet egg. At 5 weeks she was like a 2 week old and half the size of the other 2.

Now they are 8 weeks old and I am wondering if (s)he may be a rooster, so I am looking for opinions. My concerns are based on the slower feathering and the wattles look a bit bigger to me.



This is the chick in question today.





This is one of the twins today - pretty sure this is a pullet.

Here they are as day olds:





...and at about 5 weeks - the photo doesn't show the size difference as well as I would like - she really was half the size


Any thoughts or shall I wait and see if there is any crowing? I have had a soft spot for this chick since day one - such a happy wee things that flits about all over the place - very busy and lots to do!!

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