Araucana sexing help

[NicciChicki]

I'd love some help sexing our Araucana chickens. We have six approx 7 week old chickens that joined our family as unsexed newly hatched chicks. We have 2 lavender, 2 white, and 2 black. We're in NZ so most likely our Araucana's come under the UK standard. I realise they can be tricky to sex and we're content to wait until they crow or lay for a definitive answer. I'm enjoying observing them and trying to work out their sex and I'd love to learn more. I'm thinking at this stage we might have a male and female of each colour.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Where did you acquire the chicks from, feed store or breeder? No clue how much difference NZ standards would be that of USA but I'm thinking you may have some mixes.


We would need pic of their head (comb/wattle) ... From the pics you posted guessing by the combs of those that there's a picture of Pullets (1, 2, 6, 11, 12) Cockerels (3, 4, 5, 9) Can't see much of 7, 8, 10

Lets tag some help ... @Brahma Chicken5000 @JedJackson Thank you in advance

 

[ChickenLeg]

Uk standards are totally different than US, birds dont look like mixes to me. The black might have some leakage but he could grow out of it hes only 7 weeks old.

Goodluck sexing. If they all are the same age compare leg sizes, if some have a lot thicker legs and a more prominent comb as well, compared to the others, then this will help determine which are male.

 

[L1sa]

I tend to look at their stance too, Roos seem to hold themselves more upright than the girls, the Roos backs slope at 45 degrees, where as the girls backs tend to be more horizontal

 

[JedJackson]

Agree with ChickNanny13 on genders. At that age, any bird with a red comb or face is almost certainly a cockerel. So pictures 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10 are probably males. It's difficult to tell which bird's picture is repeated and where, so that makes it a touch confusing. I can't see the comb too well for bird #8, but its stance looks cockerel-ish, but that's not much to go on. Pictures #1 and #2 show a bird that might not be developed enough to sex accurately. That bird and the rest not mentioned so far look like pullets so far.

 

[NicciChicki]

Agree with ChickNanny13 on genders. At that age, any bird with a red comb or face is almost certainly a cockerel. So pictures 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10 are probably males. It's difficult to tell which bird's picture is repeated and where, so that makes it a touch confusing. I can't see the comb too well for bird #8, but its stance looks cockerel-ish, but that's not much to go on. Pictures #1 and #2 show a bird that might not be developed enough to sex accurately. That bird and the rest not mentioned so far look like pullets so far.

Thank you JedJackson and ChickNanny13. Apologies for the poor photos, I didn't realise how dark it was in their coop! To clarify, the photos are posted in pairs for each chicken; a photo of their comb and a photo of their side. So photos 1 and 2 are the same bird, photos 3 and 4 the same birth etc. So JedJackson, the comb for "bird #8" is shown closer up in the previous picture (probably what you'd label bird #7).

So if I'm following everyone's feedback correctly, we look like we have 3 roosters, and 3 others that may be pullets or not yet developed enough to sex yet. So far this aligns with what I was thinking so that's encouraging. How much of the sexing comes down to the comb? If we can see three distinct rows in the comb at this stage can we be confident that the bird is a rooster? Will the combs for the hens be distinctly lighter than the roosters when they are mature? Also, thank you ChickenLeg for the advice on leg size. I'm not seeing a lot of difference in leg size but I think my untrained eye might be the reason behind that! I don't have good handle on what the saddle and tail feathers will look like but I presume it's too early to rely on this in any case.

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses!

 

[NicciChicki]

There is a huge variation in growth and features between these 6 birds and they are all from the same clutch! It's so fascinating!

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Pictures 3, 4, 5, & 9 possibly 6 are your Araucana cockerels. The rest appear to be pullets.

 

[drumstick diva]

agree

 

[L1sa]

Mind if I tag on to this Araucana thread? They are so hard to sex! I'm flipping backwards and forwards trying to decide whether mine is male or female.

It is the one at the front and it's 5 1/2 weeks. I've sorted out my Silkies at the back, because I have more than one I can compare. (The 2 at the back are cockerels, the little chocolate one in the middle is my hen) but my Araucana is so tricky! Barely has any comb, but it's stance is quite cockerel like at times.

By the way, this is their hidey hole away from the big mean ladies!