Any advice on sexing Appenzeller Spitzhauben?

[drumstick diva]

would love to see photo progression of these babies growing up. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has never seen them as baby chicks.

 

[Faraday40]

They look like an "80s hair band" when they 1st get their mohawks. (at about 2-3 weeks)
This was last year's hatch. I think Spitzie was the most photographed chicken I ever owned.


So far this year's group does not have any head feathers yet.
I was able to identify the spitzes by their fluff color & large nares/nostrils. If you enlarge this pic you'll see what I mean.
I have not discovered any way of sexing them until at least 6 weeks old.

 

[SPlummer]

Thank you for the update! So sad to hear about your Spitzie

We had one of our chickens last summer taken by a fox right in front of my daughters eyes. So sad. Good luck with your new chicks! We just bought 4 Spitzhauben chicks two weeks ago and are anxious to see how they turn out. I'll have to post photos sometime. Oh and thank you for the videos! My kids and I enjoyed the training ideas. I'll have to give it a try this spring

Take care!

 

[Faraday40]

Feel free to Like & share the videos. DD gets excited when she checks & the numbers go up. She actually trained several chickens to do different tricks, but at the time of filming, Bubbles & Trouble were the best. We didn't want to make a 30 min video, so the chicken jumping through the hoop (went broody), singing rooster, & racing chickens didn't make it into the video. Trouble almost didn't make it because she decided to go broody & stayed with her giant orpington chicks for 7.5 weeks untilthey were 3xs her size!





Last month DD & I were playing a game while cuddling some chickens. Bubbles was acting squirmy & it took a few min before I realized that she was simply trying to get at the cards. She must have remembered that deck of cards = TREATS.

 

[Faraday40]

My Spitzhaubens are just starting to grow in their "Spitz" It seems like they just started growing overnight!

No idea what genders yet. I just took lots of pics & some close ups so I may compare at a later date when I eventually do figure out the genders.

Chick A








Chick B




Chick C






I'm sure if I go back & take pics in just 2 days from now, they're going to look completely different.

 

[SPlummer]

That's great! They look cute! I'll have to post some pics of mine too. They're 2.5 weeks now... And there's definitely some distinction between them... 2 have less feather development then the other 2. They have little-no tail feathers yet, very small top feathers or crests compared to the other 2, and their wing feathers are half as long and half as full as the other 2. And, one of these, with the less development, has two nubby horns in its comb. Not to mention "he" charges my hand every time I reach in to change the water etc. I'm thinking rooster but I've read that this isn't a breed associated with fast feathering gene gender linkage. Anyhow, I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow.

 

[eggomaniac13]

Hi guys I need some advice on sexing these chicks. I have 4 chicks and have a few pictures here

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[eggomaniac13]

 

[eggomaniac13]

 

[eggomaniac13]

This is chick #2. They are 4-5 weeks old