Bantam Maturity Question

[ChickenChick46]

I hadn't put that together quite yet, but you're right. I guess they're too small at hatch to safely vent sex, which makes sense when you think about it.

Yeah, that's why I'm wary of buying sexed ones online. I would hate to do so only to get weak or injured chicks because they were too delicate to vent sex. I guess hatcheries wouldn't do it if they weren't comfortable with it, but it still gives me pause.

 

[Folly's place]

About the 'pullet bin' at feed stores, don't count on it!
Our worst experience, long ago, was four cockerels out of five 'pullets'!
Right now our early May 'pullets', three cockerels out of ten, and this is not unusual.
And, the five that were all 'Sapphire somethings', not actually. Two are Mystic Marans, one Easter Egger, and two are actually whatever 'Sapphires' as labeled. At least all pullets, and can't wait to see what color eggs they produce!
Hope to see pictures of your little chicks as they grow too.
Mary

 

[redinator]

I hadn't put that together quite yet, but you're right. I guess they're too small at hatch to safely vent sex, which makes sense when you think about it.

This makes me wonder if there are auto sexing breeds of bantams . . .?

 

[redinator]

About the 'pullet bin' at feed stores, don't count on it!
Our worst experience, long ago, was four cocoerels out of five 'pullets'!
Right now our early May 'pullets', three cockerels out of ten, and this is not unusual.
And, the five that were all 'Sapphire somethings', not actually. Two are Mystic Marans, one Easter Egger, and two are actually whatever 'Sapphires' as labeled. At least all pullets, and can't wait to see what color eggs they produce!
Hope to see pictures of your little chicks as they grow too.
Mary

I'm still side-eyeing some of my chicks, but so far the only males I have were from the SR Assorted bantams bin.

One of the 'black sex-links' has a slightly larger comb than the other 7, and significantly more white on its face/head and very little red coming in. I'm giving it another week before I post it to see if my mind's playing tricks on me.

Edit: Of course it's the friendliest of the 8, so I'm extra suspicious, lol

 

[ChickenChick46]

About the 'pullet bin' at feed stores, don't count on it!
Our worst experience, long ago, was four cockerels out of five 'pullets'!
Right now our early May 'pullets', three cockerels out of ten, and this is not unusual.
And, the five that were all 'Sapphire somethings', not actually. Two are Mystic Marans, one Easter Egger, and two are actually whatever 'Sapphires' as labeled. At least all pullets, and can't wait to see what color eggs they produce!
Hope to see pictures of your little chicks as they grow too.
Mary

Great advice. I know at our local TSC, the other day, there were 3 breeds in one bin. The lady working there was incredibly knowledgeable and wouldn't have messed up and grabbed the wrong breed. But, I can easily see someone who doesn't know much about chickens, selling them to someone else who doesn't know much about chickens, and a mix-up occurring. And that's presuming they were put in the correctly labeled bins to begin with, which is a whole other issue.

 

[ChickenChick46]

Ate you

This makes me wonder if there are auto sexing breeds of bantams . . .?

Are you gonna do that research or should I?

 

[ChickenChick46]

I'm still side-eyeing some of my chicks, but so far the only males I have were from the SR Assorted bantams bin.

One of the 'black sex-links' has a slightly larger comb than the other 7, and significantly more white on its face/head and very little red coming in. I'm giving it another week before I post it to see if my mind's playing tricks on me.

Edit: Of course it's the friendliest of the 8, so I'm extra suspicious, lol

My bantam d'Uccle that I'm pretty sure is a cockerel is quite friendly. The cochin, though, is by far the friendliest. I'm very suspicious of that one.

 

[Folly's place]

In my defense: those cute gray/ blue chicks all looked very similar that day, and were a breed I'd never seen before. As their feathers came in, it was obvious that there were differences, and all are still really cute, and at least are all pullets.
Unlike the five chicks I bought two days earlier, at a different TSC, three males out of that pullet bin, but all breeds as advertised. Fun!
Mary

 

[ChickenChick46]

In my defense: those cute gray/ blue chicks all looked very similar that day, and were a breed I'd never seen before. As their feathers came in, it was obvious that there were differences, and all are still really cute, and at least are all pullets.
Unlike the five chicks I bought two days earlier, at a different TSC, three males out of that pullet bin, but all breeds as advertised. Fun!
Mary

As new as I am to chickens, I surely had no clue what I was getting. I pointed them out by color to the young lady helping me. So many look alike. I thought I had identified my Sebright as a Mille Fleur d'Uccle, then realized it doesn't have feathered legs. Oops. I'm learning every day though.

 

[Slothinc]

This makes me wonder if there are auto sexing breeds of bantams . . .?

You can get autosexing bantams in some colors (if the breeder keeps records and knows what they are doing!!)

I mostly just know that you can find them in silkies - which come in practically every color! Sex linked chocolates are available for silkies. A chocolate roo over black hens yields black (carrying chocolate) cockerels, and chocolate pullets. (Same for mauve and the chocolate variation of splash.) Cuckoo is another pattern that is sex linked. If you breed a solid male to cuckoo hens, the males will have a head spot at hatch. If you breed a double barred cuckoo male to cuckoo hens, the males will be double barred and lighter at hatch, and the females will be single barred.

There are also ways to make sex links using the silver gene and I believe leg shank colors. I don’t know much about them… but it IS possible to have sex linked or autosexing bantams. However not many people are breeding a lot of these and selling them because many breeders dont like to mass cull their male chicks like they do at hatcheries. And banty males cant really be grown out to use for food like the larger boys can.