EE and Rhode Island Reds. Gender??

[Tkoop741]

Edited 12/27/12

I was given some chicks from a friend. I have 4 Reddish/brown chicks that I'm not sure what gender they are. They are all 4 weeks old.

The one I think is a rooster ACTS like a rooster. Herding the others, charging me, and taking control of the food. Also he/she is bigger and looks a little different. The hatcher said he/she came from an easter-egger but was crossed with a Rhode Island Red dad.

The other 3 are Rhode Island Reds. There are 3 that I have labeled Hen? because they look so much different than the "Roo" but have similar coloring. They are all smaller than the roo. The three "hens" have shorter tail feathers, too. I could be completely wrong, though. I am VERY new at this. Any ideas?



He/she stares at me every time I open the door.


He/she has SUCH pretty feathers already.




Poor chick is a little gangly.

Losing the "baby fluff"

Edited to add: After doing some more research (and some helpful posters!) I am pretty sure the labels "Hens" and "roo" should be switched. I'll be taking some more pictures when they hit 5 weeks and I'll add pics

 

[kreagerm]

Does the one you think is an Easter Egger have green legs? If not then its not an Easter Egger. Sorry can't help on sexing.

 

[hdowden]

they all sorta look like cockerels and i do not see any ee's in there 3 is for sure a cockerel all the way just basied off of the comb

 

[Tkoop741]

She said the one I think is a Cockerel hatched from a green egg (she hand hatched it) but its dad was a RIR. The others are probably RIRs (based on talking to the hatcher). I was just going based off the saddle feathers being so much shorter than the one I thought was cockerel. But like I said before, I'm so new to this.

hdowden: What should I look for about the comb being male/female?

 

[Tkoop741]

According to this website: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/sexingchicks.html it looks like my guesses may have been wrong! Looks like my "Roo" and Hen 2 *may* be hens and my Hen 1 and 3 are probably Roos. (based mainly on comb development and feather development) SOOO much to learn!

 

[my sunwolf]

They look like fluffy kids to me, post more pictures at 5 weeks and we'll have a better idea!

 

[donrae]

Okay, it's really pretty early to say for sure. That said.............

The bird you're calling a rooster doesn't look like a roo to me at all. In that first pic, I think you need to swap the genders. The bird on the left has a larger comb and thicker legs, and looks slower feathering. I'm leaning toward cockerel on no 2 and 3 also, but as stated, it's early. Post again in 3-4 weeks and we'll have a better idea.


Does the one you think is an Easter Egger have green legs? If not then its not an Easter Egger. Sorry can't help on sexing.

Easter eggers don't always have green legs. Or beards, or muffs, or pea combs. They're kinda mutts and can look like just about anything. I agree this bird doesn't look like an easter egger to me, but if it came from a green egg it's at least half, and for most folks that's good enough.

 

[Panth]

also...there are no "saddle feathers" on chicks this small...those don't even start showing up until after 8 to 10 weeks. I'm actually guessing that almost all of those chicks are cockerals based on the way they are standing, feathering in, and how large the legs are. You can't really determine gender by actions at this age either, however, a general rule is that if the chick is friendly and outgoing it is most likely going to be a roo.

 

[jendodd79]

Here's mine that were similar looking at the same age!

This is our girl



This one turned in to a boy! So grumpy looking - lol!

 

[Tkoop741]

That helps a lot! I realized what I thought were the "saddle feathers" were really tail feathers I was talking about. I guess I'll just give it a few more weeks before trying to get rid of the cockerels. The one I now think is a hen and not roo sure acts like a "man" haha