4 w.o. Splash Marans - is there any hope?

[julskinka]

Upfront: I know this chick looks like a cockerel with no context. So what I'm asking is if anyone has had a marans that looked like this at 4 weeks but ended up being a hen.

I've seen alot of people on here say that they've had female marans that tricked them by looking quite masculine at the outset. At 2 weeks, this chick's comb was tiny and yellow, while its brethren (a blue copper marans and a blue olive egger) had ridiculous combs and even wattles. It's still less developed than those two other chicks. It's also way more skittish than the two beefcakes.

I am planning on shipping off as many cockerels as I can soon, so I just want input on whether this is a lost cause or I should keep waiting and watching.

Here they all are at 4 weeks.

Splash marans in question

Blue olive egger that's a marans cross

Blue copper marans with same parentage as the splash

Thanks for your input!

 

[julskinka]

Also - the blue marans already has copper showing up in neck and chest feathers, and I don't see any sign of copper on the splash.

 

[TashaFrancois]

My ladies had combs at that age. If it were me I would hold out hope a little longer.

 

[cstephens1987]

Looks like a cockerel to me

 

[julskinka]

My ladies had combs at that age. If it were me I would hold out hope a little longer.

Thanks! Do you happen to have any pictures?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Pretty big combs but it is really way too soon to say definitively.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I'd say rooster with that comb at 4 weeks.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Looks like a cockerel to me

They all look like cockerels to me.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

At 4 weeks, with that much wattle, your splash is likely a male. Watch a bit longer, for a couple more weeks to be sure. I've had plenty of precocious Marans girls with yellow combs that were larger, typical of the breed, but not wattles too.

Also, you shouldn't see any copper in the splash. Splash is white with grey flecks. It is great to have a splash as bred to black produces blue 100% bred to blue produces 50% blue and 50% splash....but no copper.

I'll post a pic of my young Black Copper Marans at about 4 weeks of age. You can see the obvious rooster in the foreground (with wattles), and the other 2 are girls, one being a bit precocious with her comb but every bit female.

LofMc

at 4 1/2 weeks

• Lady of McCamley
• Feb 12, 2014

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

A lot of cockerels