Buff Sussex chicks 7 weeks old....are we girls??? Lots of PICS!

[kittykat01]

These are my 2 Buff Sussex chicks, 7 weeks old. I purchased them as 'girls' (the breeder has a guarantee), but would appreciate all opinions on whether they are indeed female. One is lighter than the other, with less pronounced neck marking. The breeder had several of both the lighter and the darker birds, and I believe they came from different hatchings, but are the same age. I was unable to see the parents, so not sure if they are 'sex linked'.

Georgie is the lighter chick, Ruby is darker and with more pronounced neck marking. They are both very friendly, Georgie will jump all over me and fly up to my shoulder if I don't keep fending her off. I would also appreciate opinions on whether thay are indeed pure buff sussex?? The marking aren't as strong as I would expect them to be......

First 2 pics are of them together1) Ruby on the left (2) Georgie on the left

These 2 are Georgie:

And here is Ruby:

Thankyou!

 

[extraordinaryfowl]

I don't have much experience in Sussex, but I have read that young cockerels will have longer tails and young pullets will have shorter tails. I did some sex-linked crosses and this seems to be the case. Both look like they have short tails, plus they are about the same size. They are about the age anyway that their combs will grow faster and bigger if they are male.

 

[kittykat01]

Hadn't heard that about the tails....the lightest chick does have a better developed tail. She is also a little larger than the other chick, but not so much that I am worried yet. Both combs seem the same size at the moment, but the lighter chick is a little darker pink on the face/ ear area.

 

[BerrytangleFarm]

Looks a lot like my 6 1/2-week-old buff --

I'm saying mine's a she because of the lack of pink in her comb (all her male hatchmates have dramatically different combs and are larger, including the light sussex).

 

[rabiesbbad]

I usually look at their saddle feathers(behind their wings, before their tail.) In my experience males have long, thin, pointed saddle feathers and females have rounded, fat saddle feathers. Also the male's saddle feathers are a bit more shiney. I am not sure it just seems to work fairly well with my flock and young chicks.

 

[kittykat01]

Thanks for the pic Judges4. She does look like mine. If yours is a girls, then fingers crossed that my 2 are as well.

Their combs are both very pale, and not very developed.

 

[kittykat01]

Would anyone else like to take a guess on the sex of these chicks?

They are now 8 wks old, and this morning I discovered tiny red wattles growing on the lighter chick Georgie.

Does this mean that she/he is a HE? I don't remember my other hens getting wattles so young, but then again, they are not sussex......

 

[erinangele]

I'm going to guess girls too, but i am new to chickens so take my guess with a grain of salt. I do have a 8 week old Speckled Sussex who's feathered out the same as yours (different color of course, but short tail etc.). Everyone here guessed girl for mine, so im going to say girls for you too.


I have a mixed flock of 6 chicks and my SS's comb was the first to turn pink at about 4 weeks old. Since then it has stayed the same color and now all of them have pink combs. I was worried about her because of the comb, and the fact that she still has such a short tail while all the others have nice full tails. Seeing yours helps reassure me that the sussex are just slower to feather out.

 

[purplesquirrel]

any news on who was who?