Black Sex Links - Did I Screw Up??

[SunHwaKwon]

I'm not sure that Subject 1 is a cock... If he/she was, they would already have sickles, her/his feathers do not look like sickles.

At six weeks? I don't think any of my birds have has sickle feathers by that point. Some will start getting pointy saddle and/or cape feathers by then, but not usually. One of mine turns five months next week and he just started getting some stringy saddle feathers and still doesn't have sickle feathers.

 

[KiwiPomegranate]

Hmmm interesting, I didn't think about the comb. Thank you

M

 

[lpyrbby]

With mixes, I go by comb as any color patterning is so altered by the mixed genetics.

Subject 1 is a rooster. Huge reddening comb at 6 weeks. Rooster all the way.

Subject 2 is likely a pullet, and shows definite Speckled Sussex influence, but I agree watch and wait on that one.

I'm not sure how speckling would influence base color, although I should have thought black base would have dominated any speckling...but...it could be you have 1 Australorp mix and 1 BSL but the speckling from dad attached to the base black throwing off the BSL chick appearance into more of a tuxedo appearance (though forecasting speckling) which of course mimics the Australorp chick appearance.

That's the problem with mixes, you can get surprises.

Cute chicks. Fun project. I always enjoy my backyard breeding surprises.

LofMc

Thanks for offering a little something else of what could have gone awry. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around them possibly being both from the Australorp. I feel like it's more likely that some other genetics are at play with one of the two parents that could be contributing factors. They both look as good as hatchery stock can look for their breeds, but I also know that it doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. If I didn't want a mess of other breeds, I'd run another batch of them through the incubator to see if the results are the same. Maybe I will in the fall I'll try again.

I'm not sure that Subject 1 is a cock... If he/she was, they would already have sickles, her/his feathers do not look like sickles.

Not at 6 weeks of age....roosters don't develop saddle and sickles until much older. Some not until nearly sexually mature. You generally begin to see signs by 12 to 14 weeks, but often not until 20 weeks.

I edited my post to indicate better what I was judging my decision upon...with mixed breeds it is comb size. The hybrids generally develop pretty fast, and the comb is the first indicator. The males almost always sprout bigger, redder combs faster...generally telecasting by 4 to 6 weeks.

LofMc

Even if it were possible, Daddy Ringo didn't get them until late. Other chicken friends STILL asked me when he was around 16 weeks if I was sure he was a he because he didn't have defined hackle and saddle feathers. The changes in him were long and drawn out. Behavior was the bigger tell-tale sign with him. Sadly, I didn't have any of my adult birds as young chicks so I only have ideas to base anything off of from about 9 weeks on.

One of Ringo's other babies came out of the shell with a pronounced comb

Overall, it's been pretty interesting to see how things are progressing with all of them, but Meow and Boop are gonna make me go mad!