Sexing Easter Eggers

my sunwolf said:

Vent sexing is the only thing you can do to sex when they're very young. 5 weeks is usually the minimum for sexing pea-combed breeds. Some claim to do it earlier by the width of the peas (3 rows--cockerel, 1 row--pullet), but I find this doesn't work for EEs. Many birds will make you wait until they're 8 weeks to be really clear on sex. Obviously nothing is 100% until they crow or lay, but we can generally get to be 99% sure by 8-12 weeks.

Easter Eggers tend to have specific color patterns that are different in males and females. Generally, there is what I have taken to calling: partridge and black and white (there are many variations on these, but they are the basics).

Pullet patterns often flow evenly down the body. Cockerel patterns are broken up with splotches of color, especially dark red patches (like the partridge cockerel in the photo). Pullets tend to have the same color on their heads and necks, whereas cockerels tend to develop a separate head color and neck color.

The below photo is what I try to use to explain this:



The bird in the very top of the photo is a partridge cockerel.
Then a partridge pullet.
Then a black and white cockerel.
Then a black and white pullet.

Here are some of the same birds in individual photos:

Partridge cockerel (notice the red splotches across the shoulders, the orange head with gold hackles):


Partridge pullet (even color pattern, no red splotches, orange head and orange hackles, salmon breast--this one is always a pullet trait):

Black and white cockerels (very splotchy coloring, head is white and hackles are black):


Black and white pullet (head is white and hackles are white, color pattern is the same all over the body):


These are all just guidelines, and there are definitely exceptions. We follow up these guidelines with analysis of comb (red early is a cockerel, as usual) and behavior (friendly and brave is a cockerel, as usual). If everything adds up to one sex or the other, it is fairly likely (80-90%). If only a few things add up, then we may have to wait a few more weeks.

This kind of sexing tends to work best with hatchery EEs; the home grown variety are better sexed by comb and other typical methods, rather than color.

Hope that answered some of you questions.

ETA: Extra photos.

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