Easter Egger Sexing "tips and tricks" *Pictures Included*

[junebuggena]

Pullet

 

[TinaOK]

Here's a picture of mama hen and her two chicks. They hatched July 22 from one blue egg and one pink/beige egg, but I don't know which was from which. The mama is very protective and keeps the other hens and roosters away from the chicks. The little striped one has escaped the chicken yard half a dozen times, but I have double fencing, so she got trapped by the outer fence. Thank heavens my dogs weren't around, or she probably would have been a little snack.

I'm assuming the chicks are both girls, even though they are too young to tell. . . aren't they? I can't get closer to the chicks to take a better picture since they are very skittish. Everyone here says that EEs are friendly, but mine won't let me come close.
Love this thread
Tina

 

[kjscortez]

Hey everyone!
I bought 2 chicks like this (they were a week old when I bought them)
as Ameraucanas...since then I've purchased Ameraucanas from a breeder who shows them, and there
are quite a few differences, so I think I have Easter eggers.

Can anyone tell me what breeds might have been crossed to get these birds?
I love them, one has muff and beard, with slate legs... the other has no beard or muffs, and dark greenish legs.
both have beautiful feathering like this one.

Any thoughts? They haven't started laying yet, but I'm expecting blue eggs for the slate legged one, and
green for the other?

 

[junebuggena]

Most Easter Eggers aren't actually mutts. That would imply that they have Ameraucana or Araucana in their background. Not usually the case. In fact, quite the opposite is true. It's the Araucana and Ameraucana breeds that were derived from Easter Eggers.

 

[junebuggena]

Hey everyone!
I bought 2 chicks like this (they were a week old when I bought them)
as Ameraucanas...since then I've purchased Ameraucanas from a breeder who shows them, and there
are quite a few differences, so I think I have Easter eggers.

Can anyone tell me what breeds might have been crossed to get these birds?
I love them, one has muff and beard, with slate legs... the other has no beard or muffs, and dark greenish legs.
both have beautiful feathering like this one.

Any thoughts? They haven't started laying yet, but I'm expecting blue eggs for the slate legged one, and
green for the other?

Leg color is not an indication of egg color.

 

[CatMom]

So... what is the youngest that you can reasonably expect to be able to spot tell-tale signs such as red shoulders, etc. of gender in EE chicks? And what about fast feathering as an indication of sex?

Thanks!

 

[junebuggena]

So... what is the youngest that you can reasonably expect to be able to spot tell-tale signs such as red shoulders, etc. of gender in EE chicks? And what about fast feathering as an indication of sex?

Thanks!

Feather sexing is not reliable for most breeds. For it to be accurate, both parents need a very specific set of genes.
I've had the red be visible at just 3 weeks old, and I've had boys that didn't get any until after 8 weeks.

 

[bruceha2000]

I'm thinking rooster for my 13 week old Easter Egger, but im new to chickens so I would love some verification!

You can think that but based on the other picture I agree with the others who responded, she is not a cockerel. Sorry if that is what you wanted, it is usually the other way around

Greetings all, I cannot remember if I have ever seen a comment / question regarding Bantam EE or Ameraucanas here, but here goes! I got some hatching eggs on eBay (7/12 survived & hatched!)for my obstinately broody Bantam Wyandotte. I thought, as a first time mom it would be nice for her to have babies in her own weight class. They are all out of very blue tiny eggs, and the breeder says they should have beards and muffs. They're a week old as of yesterday and their wing feathers have just erupted! Now some are starting tail feathers. I'm a bit concerned because I have heard that fast feathering is a male trait. Can anyone give me the low down on this? I assume that they're still too little to sex by looking at the feathers, but here are some pictures anyway.(The photos I've seen of their parent flock include what look like blue/wheaten roos and hens, so I'm guessing they could color out as just about anything.) Any comments are welcome. Thanks.
{The mom hen, Chickenary, is a "failed" attempt to create Banatm Buff/Columbian Wyandotte. She's a great little bird & I wish I had bought more like her when the breeder quit the project... She is NOT the biological mother of any of these chicks.}

CUTE! I wouldn't loose sleep on "fast vs slow" feathering. All individuals are individuals.

I don't see green in the legs of many of those chicks. Odd for EEs.
You will need to check their combs as that is one of the more telltale ways to MAYBE pick a young cockerel from a young pullet.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Bruce, my experience with EE chicks that young is they do not have green legs yet. The green starts showing up around 4 weeks, if I remember right.

 

[bruceha2000]

Not mine Lynda! Only Eos was a "I THINK I see green in the legs" chick.

Persephone at about 12 days (couldn't find a clear picture of her earlier). I'm pretty sure Andromeda was the same. Unfortunately I don't have any good leg pictures of the 2015 chicks when they were that young.



@CatMom 's chick at lower left looks to have similarly colored legs. Perhaps the others will "grow into their green"