Boys? Girls? Thoughts? :)

[Jonathan1981]

Hi everyone! I'm a brand new chicken dad having just acquired my first flock (double silver laced Barnevelder large fowl...it's a mouthful), and my seven bouncing chicky-chunklets are coming up on two weeks of age. I know this is pretty early on to worry about their sex, but I'd read somewhere you can sometimes differentiate male from female based on the development of their tail feathers. Is there any truth to this? I ask because six of the seven clearly have tails while there is one yet who still does not. Obviously my secret Christmas wish is that this means the tail-less chunklet is a baby roo, and the other six are aspiring hens. I understand that when buying unsexed birds this would be the equivalent of hitting the numbers at Black Jack, but I dare to dream! Any feedback y'all could share would be much appreciated.

 

[Jonathan1981]

I've uploaded a couple of chick pics so y'all can see what I'm seeing. Notice the tail-less bum of the hand-fed chunklet as opposed to the very obvious tail of its wee companion. The one without a tail is the only chick without at tail at this point.

 

[sbienusa]

I am so curious how this turned out for you? I am going through the same thing.... the little buggers are hard!

 

[Jonathan1981]

I am so curious how this turned out for you? I am going through the same thing.... the little buggers are hard!

Oooh...what kind of chicks are you currently raising?

It turns out the tail theory I'd read online (at least in this case) was hogwash. I ended up with 3 roosters and 4 hens, although one of my hens passed last week sadly. At around 5 or 6 weeks the combs on a few birds started to turn red and develop a bit more, and not so much on the others. My girls still don't hardly have combs to speak of, and are quite a bit more round shaped than the boys. They are all really adorable and friendly though! They're pretty awkward around the camera these days, but I will try to snap some photos of them later to post.

 

[sbienusa]

Haha! Just like you, I have three 4 week old silver Laced large fowl jewels. I am honestly scared I managed to get three roosters! Two have patterns over their whole bodies, one has quite a bit of black and patterns mostly on the wings. It also has the most prominent comb and vshaped upright tail. However, it has the skinniest legs. The one with the least amount of comb has thick legs and is bigger than the other two, however it is from a different line. The third has a comb that is developing but is smaller than the first, lots of patterning and what looks to me as thicker legs. Brats. They should just crow already and get it over with! Lol. I just want to know if I need to order more eggs before it gets even later in the year! Lol!!! Dang it for chicken math!

 

[Jonathan1981]

Haha! Just like you, I have three 4 week old silver Laced large fowl jewels. I am honestly scared I managed to get three roosters! Two have patterns over their whole bodies, one has quite a bit of black and patterns mostly on the wings. It also has the most prominent comb and vshaped upright tail. However, it has the skinniest legs. The one with the least amount of comb has thick legs and is bigger than the other two, however it is from a different line. The third has a comb that is developing but is smaller than the first, lots of patterning and what looks to me as thicker legs. Brats. They should just crow already and get it over with! Lol. I just want to know if I need to order more eggs before it gets even later in the year! Lol!!! Dang it for chicken math!

Here's a visual of what I'm currently working with. I couldn't get everyone to huddle together for a photo, but you can see the distinction between combs. I have three with nearly nothing, and three with the more prominent and bright red combs. The difference has been pretty apparent for the past couple of week at this point. They are all really friendly though, and I'm enjoying them immensley!

 

[sbienusa]

Oh, that's a good comparison. I am not sure it makes me feel better! The one I have the most hen hope for is quite a bit bigger than the other two in overall size and legs. The smaller one with patterning looks like she (thinking positive) might be starting to develop a comb. Guess a couple more weeks are in order. I would just order the eggs, but my husband might not appreciate it! Lol! Your babies are beautiful!

 

[Jonathan1981]

Oh, that's a good comparison. I am not sure it makes me feel better! The one I have the most hen hope for is quite a bit bigger than the other two in overall size and legs. The smaller one with patterning looks like she (thinking positive) might be starting to develop a comb. Guess a couple more weeks are in order. I would just order the eggs, but my husband might not appreciate it! Lol! Your babies are beautiful!

Thank you for sharing photos of your chicks! Mine looked pretty similar a few weeks ago, and then started to darken a bit...can't wait to see them as adults! The three I'm fairly positive are hens are shorter than the other chicks with the red combs, but they are quite a bit larger/rounder. All are docile, and will be a good breed for a first time chicken owner like myself.

Where did you order your eggs from? Did you have a lot of success with hatch rate? I've read that Barnevelders aren't notoriously broody, but I thought it may be fun to incubate/hatch at some point...just to experience the full cycle.

 

[sbienusa]

I am having a brain block moment... dang it for age! I believe the silvers I ordered from a gentleman in Ohio. He had a posting on eBay once that I went back and found because I had ordered some gold Laced and they got lost by the post office. By the time I got them they were soup which seems to be the case with a lot of shipped eggs I get. Egg impulse buying, it's an awful addiction! I have about thirty cooking right now which I don't have much hope for, they came in beat to you know what despite good packing on the sellers part. We candle Saturday so we will see!

 

[sbienusa]

They are two different lines though. The two smaller ones are greenfire, the larger one is from a different import I am told.