Chick hatched today...gender?

[krodgers]

Does this look like girl wing feathers? From what I’ve researched, it does to me, but I haven’t always had good luck with getting it right.

 

[sylviethecochin]

The reason you haven't had good luck is because it doesn't work that way. There's quite a bit of misinformation online about this one.

This is how feather speed actually works (simplified):

In purebreds, extremely fast feathers or extremely slow feathers are almost always a sign of a rooster.

It has to do with double-factoring. The genes that control feathering speed are located on the Z chromosome (of which a male has two copies) A hen only has one Z chromosome, and one W chromosome. Therefore, a hen can only have one copy of the gene, but a rooster can have two.

When the rooster has two copies of a feather-speed gene, it's effects are increased. For instance, take k (rapid feathering.) The hens (k/-) (- represents the lack of a gene) will feather slower than the roosters (k/k.)

This is also how feather-sexing works. You take a slow feathering rooster (such as a Dominique—assume k, which is one of the fast-feathering genes) over a slow-feathering hen (such as a Barred Rock. Assume slow feather gene is K) K is dominant to k, so you get the below punnet square (which I found online.)

 

[LightningRidgeF]

I can't help you at all with this one! I'm never sure until they lay eggs or start crowing!

 

[Hensndoes]

The reason you haven't had good luck is because it doesn't work that way. There's quite a bit of misinformation online about this one.

This is how feather speed actually works (simplified):

In purebreds, extremely fast feathers or extremely slow feathers are almost always a sign of a rooster.

It has to do with double-factoring. The genes that control feathering speed are located on the Z chromosome (of which a male has two copies) A hen only has one Z chromosome, and one W chromosome. Therefore, a hen can only have one copy of the gene, but a rooster can have two.

When the rooster has two copies of a feather-speed gene, it's effects are increased. For instance, take k (rapid feathering.) The hens (k/-) (- represents the lack of a gene) will feather slower than the roosters (k/k.)

This is also how feather-sexing works. You take a slow feathering rooster (such as a Dominique—assume k, which is one of the fast-feathering genes) over a slow-feathering hen (such as a Barred Rock. Assume slow feather gene is K) K is dominant to k, so you get the below punnet square (which I found online.)

I'm sorry but this table confuses me. I am trying to understand it because I have a slow feathering marans that everything says boy but the comb... can you explain how a pullet could feather slow?

 

[sylviethecochin]

I'm sorry but this table confuses me. I am trying to understand it because I have a slow feathering marans that everything says boy but the comb... can you explain how a pullet could feather slow?

The answer:
Assuming the parents are homozygous for fast feathering, all of the offspring are going to be fast-feathering. Your pullet has fast-feathering. Her brothers have fast feathering. But since it's sexlinked, she can only carry one copy of the gene, and the boys carry two copies.

Two copies of the fast-feathering gene are stronger than one copy of the fast feathering gene, so the boys would feather in more quickly than she does.


Hen is (k/-), rooster is (k/k)

The Details:
Most Marans are fast-feathering. (fast-feathering is actually normal. The slow feathering genes are K, Ks, and Kn) In fact, any breed that has cuckoo, instead of barring, as the normal coloration should be fast-feathering (though that varies between color varieties within the breed) because the slow-feathering helps the bars come in more evenly.

Note: This is often only applicable with breeder stock, and sometimes not even then. Hatcheries rarely care enough to keep the breed standards, and a lot of hatchery barred Rocks are nearly indistinguishable from cuckoo.

You also have to consider the possibility that the father is heterozygous (K/k) and could pass one gene or the other to his offspring. In that case, he would be slow-feathering, since that gene is dominant, and all of his offspring have a chance of inheriting one gene or the other.

If the rooster is (K/k), he will be slow-feathering
If the hen is (k/-), she will be fast-feathering.
But as shown below, their offspring will not be sexlinked. Pullets could be k (fast) or K (slow), and cockerels could be k/k (very fast) or K/k (slow)

And that's completely ignoring the presence of the factor "T" which allows for normal feathering. It's dominant. It should be there, but sometimes, the chickens lack it.

 

[Hensndoes]

The answer:
Assuming the parents are homozygous for fast feathering, all of the offspring are going to be fast-feathering. Your pullet has fast-feathering. Her brothers have fast feathering. But since it's sexlinked, she can only carry one copy of the gene, and the boys carry two copies.

Two copies of the fast-feathering gene are stronger than one copy of the fast feathering gene, so the boys would feather in more quickly than she does.


Hen is (k/-), rooster is (k/k)
View attachment 1372957


The Details:
Most Marans are fast-feathering. (fast-feathering is actually normal. The slow feathering genes are K, Ks, and Kn) In fact, any breed that has cuckoo, instead of barring, as the normal coloration should be fast-feathering (though that varies between color varieties within the breed) because the slow-feathering helps the bars come in more evenly.

Note: This is often only applicable with breeder stock, and sometimes not even then. Hatcheries rarely care enough to keep the breed standards, and a lot of hatchery barred Rocks are nearly indistinguishable from cuckoo.

You also have to consider the possibility that the father is heterozygous (K/k) and could pass one gene or the other to his offspring. In that case, he would be slow-feathering, since that gene is dominant, and all of his offspring have a chance of inheriting one gene or the other.

If the rooster is (K/k), he will be slow-feathering
If the hen is (k/-), she will be fast-feathering.
But as shown below, their offspring will not be sexlinked. Pullets could be k (fast) or K (slow), and cockerels could be k/k (very fast) or K/k (slow)
View attachment 1372962
And that's completely ignoring the presence of the factor "T" which allows for normal feathering. It's dominant. It should be there, but sometimes, the chickens lack it.

Thank you!

 

[sylviethecochin]

Thank you!

You're welcome.

 

[Megan michelle]

Can anyone tell me what kind of hen this is?

 

[sylviethecochin]

Can anyone tell me what kind of hen this is?

Welcome to BYC!

You might want to start a new thread. Go to "Forums," "Chicken Breeds," "What Breed or Gender is This?" and then hit the blue "Post New Thread" button in the upper right corner of the page. Then make a post.

Also, I would get pictures of leg and comb, because different breeds have different comb shapes, and different leg colors. And it helps if you get a standing side picture. Right now, I'm thinking possibly Easter Egger, but a lot of breeds are that color.

You may wish to tag Gray Farms, he's pretty good with the breed identification thing. You can tag someone by using an @ symbol and their name (tagging myself, for instance, is @sylviethecochin)

And if you introduce yourself in the "New Member Introductions" section, people will be more than happy to show you around the site. Hope this helps.

 

[drumstick diva]

Agree Gray Farms and Jed Jackson really know their breeds.