Excepting silkies, some polish, etc, gender is easily differentiated well before 12 weeks. I have most chicks sorted by 4, 6 for the iffier ones
At what age is sexing definite?
- Thread starter HopeSprings
- Start date
Trimurtisan
Flying by the seat of my pants!
LOL, that's the part that makes it mind blowing.
I would assume among the common chicken owner, that's not common knowledge.
That's a question I had too for my birds. I ordered 10 pullets as day old chicks, expecting to get a roo or two by accident. However, I learned that some breeds are autosexing from hatch based on their color and/or markings. 3 of my breeds fell into that category and I knew they were pullets. The other 7 breeds were all on the hatchery, but after 12 weeks, none of my pullets have turned into cockerels. So it looks like I got what I paid for.
Nice pics of your birds. Other than the one cockerel, I see only pullets. In any case, I think you got your money's worth on that good looking flock.
Frazzemrat1
Free Ranging
In the group photo, the gold laced Wyandotte that's standing upright on the left, looks like a cockerel.
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- #15
HopeSprings
Songster
I had to order 15 (minimum) so ordered 16 to get 2 of each breed, and they added the 17th. I basically expected to lose a few. But didn't! They all arrived happy and healthy, and stayed that way! I'm planning on rehoming 6 of them as soon as I can be sure of their sex.
Evidently, we had some similar ideas. I ordered 10 chicks hoping to winter over at least 6 laying hens. I expected maybe a roo or two and maybe some early loss of chicks. But I managed to keep all 10 chicks alive for the past 12 weeks and there are no roos in the mix. So I am ahead of my game plan.
I will not be rehoming any birds as I can manage 10 hens. Most of my birds are considered dual purpose, so I had planned on harvesting any roo if there was a problem. My backyard flock are not my pets, per se, so chicken and rice is on the menu for the girls sometime in the future. My wife thinks I am already too attached to my "not pets" and if/when the time comes for harvesting, I won't have the heart to do it. She may be right as I have softened up over the years. Also, I am raising the hens for the enjoyment and NOT to save money on eggs or meat. As we all know, it's much cheaper to buy the product from the supermarket. Eggs are currently 78 cents per dozen on sale this week. Chicken meat goes on sale for less than $1.00 per pound. So rehoming is also a great idea if you can work it out. Good luck!
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- #17
HopeSprings
Songster
That's a Whiting True Blue (or Green). They are different looking birds! Kind of eagle-headed!
Believe they are referring to this bird....which is definitely a glw, not either Whiting type
Frazzemrat1
Free Ranging
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- #20
HopeSprings
Songster
Oh
Oh, okay! I was looking at the furthest left! Both Gold Lace Wyandottes have reddish combs -- hope they're not both going to be roosters!!Yep, that's the one I'm talking about.
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