Another thread about sexing Wyandottes

[K0k0shka]

There have been others, I know... And I did go over them. Some had pictures at different ages and an update past the point of doubt, which was very helpful for me. So I'm starting one of those threads, too. First, to ask you for your opinions, and then to update it with pictures, and the final verdict of who ended up what. Then hopefully others down the line will find it and learn from my experience.

So here are my chicks, 5 weeks old now - two gold laced and two splash laced red, from the feed store (so hatchery quality) supposedly sexed. I'm pretty good at sexing single combs, but these are my first rose combs so I'm still learning.

Chick #1
This one is my favorite. Extremely human-friendly from the very beginning, a lot more so than any of the others. Very brave, curious and inquisitive. Which has kept me on my toes, because those are usually male qualities... But judging by other people's pictures of cockerels at this age, it doesn't look like one to me at this point...

Chick #2
The second friendliest of the bunch, though not as much as #1. Has less color in the comb/wattles than #1, though after looking at people's now-confirmed cockerels, my impression of color may have been more imagined than real

Chick #3
This one took some work to socialize. In general, the two GLW's have been a lot less human-friendly than the two SLR's, even though they came from the same hatchery.

Chick #4
This one is VERY skittish and fearful, and freaks out over the smallest thing. He's also the only one I'm seriously thinking is male. He has a tiny bit more wattle color and development than the others. He is also much slower to feather out than the others, and still has naked patches when the other chicks are pretty smooth by now. His tail is comically short compared to the other three. He is very paranoid about potential danger, and will stand up very straight, periscoping his neck like an ostrich, and freak out about strange sounds or that groundhog in the distance. He also goes beak to beak and picks fights with everybody! I've been taking them out to meet the flock, and he challenges the grown hens through the chicken wire divider in the run, raising his head and fluff hackles at them and holding his head level with theirs until they try to peck him through the holes. His fearfulness with people doesn't align with the general cockerel predisposition, but the way he acts with his own kind, and his delayed feathering, seem pretty suspicious to me...

Check out the tail difference between these two (the picture is from last week). The chicks themselves are the same size - the difference here is because of perspective. But look at their tails!

 

[JedJackson]

The gold laced ones are pullets. Chick 1 I'm pretty sure is a pullet, and chick 2 probably is as well, but I'm less certain with that one because of wattle development and its deeper coloring. Post back in a couple of weeks if it isn't clear by then.

 

[K0k0shka]

The gold laced ones are pullets. Chick 1 I'm pretty sure is a pullet, and chick 2 probably is as well, but I'm less certain with that one because of wattle development and its deeper coloring. Post back in a couple of weeks if it isn't clear by then.

Thanks! I'll post weekly updates. What do you mean deeper coloring - in the comb/wattles, or feathers?

 

[JedJackson]

Thanks! I'll post weekly updates. What do you mean deeper coloring - in the comb/wattles, or feathers?

In the feathers. It may mean nothing. I think the blue laced ones just need more time to tell.

 

[K0k0shka]

In the feathers. It may mean nothing. I think the blue laced ones just need more time to tell.

The feather color is unrelated. The "blue" laced variety doesn't breed true and will give you a mix if you cross two blue laced red wyandottes - 50% will be blue laced (red laced with gray), 25% will be black laced (red laced with black), and 25% will be splash laced (red laced with white). And the shades of gray can vary pretty much anywhere on the spectrum from white to black. The chicks can be hard to tell apart at hatch, so unless it's a breeder who is serious about this and is keeping track and labelling them, you'll get a bin of everything that was produced from that breeding - so red laced with anything from black to white. Mine came from the feed store, so hatchery quality and labeled "blue" but that really means it could be anything from white to black. So I got one that's closer to white (splash laced red), and one that's a little more grey (some form of blue laced red, though still pretty pale).

 

[K0k0shka]

Anyone else?

 

[K0k0shka]