4 week Old Wheaten marans, Boys or girls?

Hi, I hatched these five little ones from 6 eggs I got from a Wheaten Marans I got earlier this year. I'm having a difficult time sexing a couple of these little ones as even though I set them all on the same day, one baby hatched two days later than the others. (the first egg the Marans hatched, it was marked) I'm pretty POSITIVE the first three are boys, the last two are the ones I'm not too sure about. As I am quite new to these beautiful birds, any help is greatly appreciated.

Here are the suspected boys:






These are the suspected girls,
The first two pics are of the smaller extremely light bird that hatched two days late:





These pics are of the larger suspected girl that hatched out earlier
When the wings are closed, you can't really see any black (and the bands are kind of dark grey, not black):

Here is the chest:

Out of the suspected boys the first and third are the best bets but even then they may be pullets, they're so pale. That could be due to lack of greens and sunlight though. Not sure about the suspected girls, the late-hatcher may be a slow-developing male.

If you're sure it's not lack of sunlight nor greens, then you may want to give them some carminatives, to improve their peripheral circulation, as even slow developers should be showing a bit more color than that. They look good otherwise, just a bit pale. An example of a carminative is Apple Cider Vinegar, which has dozens of health benefits and one of them is that it lengthens the cilia in the gut so they digest better making them healthier and more feed efficient, and they eliminate waste more efficiently, and this benefit stays with them for life. It'd need to be upasteurized ACV with the 'mother' in it though, you'd just add a half-teaspoon to a liter of water or whatever.

Best wishes.

Thamk you. I'll start them on ACV right away.

My very well respected avian vet says the whole thing ACV thing is baloney. Just so you know. Many swear by it, but then many swear by homeopathic remedies, too...


Here's an article from PubMed. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1785201/

WalkingOnSunshine said:

My very well respected avian vet says the whole thing ACV thing is baloney. Just so you know. Many swear by it, but then many swear by homeopathic remedies, too...


Here's an article from PubMed. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1785201/

Click to expand...

Regardless of what a single vet says, there are scientific studies proving it lengthens the cilia in the guts, alkalizes the body, improves circulation, increases food absorption, decreases susceptibility to disease, etc, it has many proven benefits for both humans and animals.

So far almost all the anti-ACV folks I've met appear to be either those with an admitted predisposition to dislike natural therapies, or those who didn't use the right form or use it for long enough.

There are many hundreds of vets and doctors who swear by ACV, and homeopathy, and basically the usual gamut of conventionally scorned therapies i.e. DE, garlic, etc, and use it with their animals and recommend it to their customers too. So I personally wouldn't lay any special weight to a single vet's opinions, lol.

There are dozens and dozens of studies anyone can quote pro or anti anything, so each to their own and if in doubt, try it out, I reckon.

Too many people try something haphazardly, don't do their research so make a hash of it, then set out to convert the world to their unjustified skepticism, unfortunately.

Best wishes to all.

chooks4life said:

Regardless of what a single vet says, there are scientific studies proving it lengthens the cilia in the guts, alkalizes the body, improves circulation, increases food absorption, decreases susceptibility to disease, etc, it has many proven benefits for both humans and animals.

So far almost all the anti-ACV folks I've met appear to be either those with an admitted predisposition to dislike natural therapies, or those who didn't use the right form or use it for long enough.

There are many hundreds of vets and doctors who swear by ACV, and homeopathy, and basically the usual gamut of conventionally scorned therapies i.e. DE, garlic, etc, and use it with their animals and recommend it to their customers too. So I personally wouldn't lay any special weight to a single vet's opinions, lol.

There are dozens and dozens of studies anyone can quote pro or anti anything, so each to their own and if in doubt, try it out, I reckon.

Too many people try something haphazardly, don't do their research so make a hash of it, then set out to convert the world to their unjustified skepticism, unfortunately.

Best wishes to all.

Click to expand...

Please tell me how the homeopathic water forgets the poop and arsenic that was in it but remembers what you want it to.

Also, did you read the link? It wasn't one vet's opinion, it was a National Institutes of Health literature survey.

If you actually wanted to understand it you'd research it. I know from previous experience with you that you're opposed to natural therapies so I'm not attempting to 'convert' you, but I am attempting to give the OP an alternative and helpful viewpoint.

Your 'very respected' vet's opinion is just one vet's opinion, hundreds of vets and doctors possess the exact contrary opinion, as I stated. That in itself proves nothing except that we should keep an open mind.

And about the Pubmed article, as I also stated before, you can find dozens of studies pro and anti anything, all from reputable sources, even from the same source, LOL!

Pubmed itself has many studies both pro and anti ACV.

So please, let's just agree to disagree. I'm going to leave it there.

Best wishes.

Though with some animals, Dalmatians or other hyperurisocoria dogs for example, ACV is contraindicated. HUU is possible in a multitude of breeds and mixes so a blanket statement of an additive being good for all species/breeds/individuals can be hazardous.

tridentk9 said:

Though with some animals, Dalmatians or other hyperurisocoria dogs for example, ACV is contraindicated. HUU is possible in a multitude of breeds and mixes so a blanket statement of an additive being good for all species/breeds/individuals can be hazardous.

Click to expand...

Always a good point to not use it if in doubt about an individual animals' special needs. I'm not sure ACV would be wise to give an animal with an ulcerated digestive tract, either, nor possibly poultry who already have excessive fermentation occurring through gizzard blockage for example.

Best wishes.