Autosexing breeds

[rc50]

Hi hope all are doing great... anyone on this forum interested in Autosexing breeds...? Legbars, Cambars, Rhodebar, Hambars ect....

thanks a ton
Keith
SC

 

[newlyweds]

Yes I am very interested in Legbars, are they even available in the US?

 

[centrarchid]

Most breeds that are barred are also auto-sexing so list can be expanded to include dominiques, barred plymouth rocks, and Norwegian Jaerhons and many others condisidered as cuckoo or crele colored.

 

[Omniskies]

I think Greenfire has Legbars right now.

I'm interested in the semi-autosexing breeds/colors: Barred Rocks, Silver Grey Dorkings, Norwegian Jaerhons, etc. I place a big emphasis on autosexing abilities in chicks. Some strains of semi-autosexing breeds are 93-95% accurate, with many of them in the 80-85% range.

 

[stoneunhenged]

Thanks for opening up this subject. I think auto-sexing breeds are amazing: beautiful, practical, interesting. Here's a blog I wrote on auto-sexing breeds that may interest you:

http://greenfirefarms.com/2011/01/a-new-years-revolution/

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

What colors are auto sexing?

The most reliably autosexing color, from what I've read, is Golden or Creme Cuckoo. Silver Cuckoo being a bit less. And regular barred/cuckoo being a bit less than that. Is this correct? Where does Crele fall into the spectrum? It is very similar to Golden Cuckoo, if not the same in some breeds.

I'm also wondering if Barred Wheaten is as reliably auto-sexing as, say, Golden Cuckoo.

Are Lemon (Buff) Barred, Red Barred, Blue Barred, etc as sexable at birth as regular Black Barred?

What about non-barred auto-sexing colors, which ones are the easiest to identify at hatch, as a rule? I saw somewhere that Russian Orloffs (Spangled) could be identified at hatch. Is this true in general, or only for a very practiced eye?

 

[Omniskies]

Eesh, there are tons that are - or were at one point - semi-autosexing.

True Rhode Island Reds could be sexed by wing color at around 90% accuracy, New Hampshire Reds using the same method at around 80% accuracy. Silver Grey Dorkings (also Silver Grey Leghorns and, I believe, Silver Phoenix) can be sexed by the size of the stripe on the head (females have a large pronounced stripe, males a mottled thin stripe). Welsummer chicks can be sexed the same way.

Barnevelders can be sexed by breast color.

Wheaten birds can be sexed at 1-2 weeks of age by wing color. Males will develop dark wings and females will have light, cream colored wings.

From what I know, anything Barred or Cuckoo can be sexed by using a combination of checking the head spot and leg color. Females are also supposed to be darker than males. This may not work on all Barred/Cuckoo birds - and the lighter colored varieties (Red Barred, etc) may be too light as chicks to really see a difference.

Buff Brahmas could be sexed by wing color at one point.

I'm still working on sexing Delawares when they are younger. Males are supposed to have more color than females (I haven't found that to be true in any strains I have sexed). Males are also supposed to have barred tail feathers while hens have black tail feathers. I'm still trying to get the hang of that one to see how soon you can sex them that way.

Remember, a lot of this has to do with the _strain_ of the bird as well as the color. It is a trait you have to breed into your flock, just like any other trait. I hate waiting weeks and weeks to find out that my favorite chick is a rooster, so I'm really putting a lot of emphasis on sexing at birth. All of the breeds/colors I've selected to raise can theoretically be sexed between one day and two weeks of age. Except for my Blue Laced Red Wyandottes, which are lovely enough to be forgiven for their autosexing-handicap.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
I raise "true" Rhode Island Reds out of some very good lines and I have not seen any way to sex them accurately by wing color.

Chris

 

[Omniskies]

"Good lines" don't necessarily mean they have been bred to be semi-autosexing.

Have you looked for markings on the wings?

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Can you provide photographs?