Sexing Welsummers

[AUChickenGal]

Quote:
The more the merrier!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Rdmom, yes that's a salmon chest on your Welsummer. I don't see any black so pretty sure that's a girl.

 

[rdmom]

Wonderful were hoping she'd remain a she hopefully that helps confirm one of your chicks for you at least Auchickengal!

 

[AUChickenGal]

Wonderful were hoping she'd remain a she hopefully that helps confirm one of your chicks for you at least Auchickengal!

I hope so! My light colored Welllie has developed a habit of chest bumping and challenging the other chicks. Hopefully that means I have one cockerel and two pullets, but we shall see.

 

[AUChickenGal]

Just wanted to keep this thread updated in hopes that it will help someone else in the future. It's too soon to tell for sure with my chicks, but I have one that I'm pretty confident is a cockerel (the lightest one as a new chick), one that I'm pretty sure is a pullet (the darkest one as a new chick), and one that I'm still on the fence about but leaning towards cockerel. Photos are at three weeks old and not great because they're getting big enough to protest strongly about being held/photographed.

This one I'm about 90% sure is a pullet:



This one I am equally confident is a cockerel:



This one I'm not so sure about:



I couldn't get any good full-body shots, but the one I'm sure is a cockerel has a lot of red coming in on his shoulders and wings, tail feathers that are starting to kind of curl over, thick legs, and a very upright stance. The pullet is much darker and has significantly less comb development. The other one is right in between those two. They're feathering in very quickly now; I think the differences are going to be pretty apparent soon.

 

[AUChickenGal]

At four weeks, I am pretty sure that I have one cockerel:






One pullet:



And one that's anyone's guess...

 

[AUChickenGal]

In case anyone stumbles on this thread while searching for help on the same issue, I did end up with one cockerel and two pullets. They're 7 weeks old this week, and the difference is pretty dramatic.


This:



Turned into this:



This:



Turned into this:



And this:



Turned into this (center of the photo, between the Easter Egger and the Silver Laced Wyandotte):

 

[junebuggena]

In case anyone stumbles on this thread while searching for help on the same issue, I did end up with one cockerel and two pullets. They're 7 weeks old this week, and the difference is pretty dramatic.


This:



Turned into this:



This:



Turned into this:



And this:



Turned into this (center of the photo, between the Easter Egger and the Silver Laced Wyandotte):

And only one is actually a Welsummer. #1 is a Production Red. #2 is a Welsummer. And I have no idea what breed #3 is, could be an Easter egger or mixed breed.

 

[AUChickenGal]

Hmm. I don't think so. They're hatchery birds, so far from SOP, but the cockerel looks nothing at all like the Production Red cockerel that was shipped as an extra (just sold him, so I don't have a side-by-side comparison to offer). He isn't colored the way I'd expect a Welsummer to, but he doesn't match the Production Reds I had in the same hatch, either. It doesn't really matter much what he is, since his only real job is to be a pretty yard ornament. As long as he stays agreeable, he can stick around. I'm curious to see exactly what he ends up looking like/being though. Have you ever seen a Welsummer rooster be really slow to develop the black chest? The third bird doesn't have any EE characteristics. I think she's just very poor quality (I also ended up selling her, but I did take a picture before she left).

I'm very happy with the dark pullet, though. She is becoming very pretty and is the sweetest bird in the whole bunch.

 

[junebuggena]

Hmm. I don't think so. They're hatchery birds, so far from SOP, but the cockerel looks nothing at all like the Production Red cockerel that was shipped as an extra (just sold him, so I don't have a side-by-side comparison to offer). He isn't colored the way I'd expect a Welsummer to, but he doesn't match the Production Reds I had in the same hatch, either. It doesn't really matter much what he is, since his only real job is to be a pretty yard ornament. As long as he stays agreeable, he can stick around. I'm curious to see exactly what he ends up looking like/being though. Have you ever seen a Welsummer rooster be really slow to develop the black chest? The third bird doesn't have any EE characteristics. I think she's just very poor quality (I also ended up selling her, but I did take a picture before she left).

I'm very happy with the dark pullet, though. She is becoming very pretty and is the sweetest bird in the whole bunch.

There is quite a bit of variance with Production Reds. And no, if he doesn't have the proper coloring now, he won't ever develop it. He's not a Welsummer.