Confirmation before dispatch 😕

[The Happster]

They have pea combs that look rooish.

They do! Especially the one with red leakage. He has a manly face too.
And the one with red leakage has some sneaky saddle feathering.

View attachment 2303720
View attachment 2303721

Look at the top photo.

 

[NatJ]

Mixed breeds - Papa is the Ameraucana, and Mama I'm guessing is either one of the chocolate cuckoos, or the sunset coloured mix.

If you are certain of the father, and that he has no barring:
then they are 100% guaranteed to be cockerels.
(Black sexlinks, basically.)

Barring is on the Z (sex) chromosome.
A hen has only one Z chromosome, and she passes it only to her sons.
(She also has a W chromosome, which she passes it to her daughters.)
The point is that if only the mother is barred, then all barred chicks are male.

So yes, you can be sure they are males, and you might as well butcher them.

 

[LinzeeBrie]

If you are certain of the father, and that he has no barring:
then they are 100% guaranteed to be cockerels.
(Black sexlinks, basically.)

Barring is on the Z (sex) chromosome.
A hen has only one Z chromosome, and she passes it only to her sons.
(She also has a W chromosome, which she passes it to her daughters.)
The point is that if only the mother is barred, then all barred chicks are male.

So yes, you can be sure they are males, and you might as well butcher them.

So helpful and interesting, thank you!! 100% sure on the father.

 

[LinzeeBrie]

They do! Especially the one with red leakage. He has a manly face too.
And the one with red leakage has some sneaky saddle feathering.

Look at the top photo.

Thank you! The red leakage is what had me convinced too. They really were giving off an all around male vibe... I now wish we had included them in the cull last night so that we don't all have to go through it again shortly

 

[chrissynemetz]

Yes, those parents would make them black sex link cockerels.

 

[LinzeeBrie]

Yes, those parents would make them black sex link cockerels.

Thank you! Does that look like barring on both of the light birds too?! (I ask because one drowned in her water bowl, and if she was also a male, then our 1/6 female/male odds are consistent ). Also very cool that those two white spots are gender indicators! (Except that now I won't ever in good conscience be able to sell straight run chicks )

 

[NatJ]

The light birds: I think the one on the left is barred (spot on head, white bars on wing feathers.) The one more to the right, with the stripey head and back, I'm not so sure about. I've seen some barred-like patterns on young birds that do not actually have barring, so not really sure here.

Also very cool that those two white spots are gender indicators! (Except that now I won't ever in good conscience be able to sell straight run chicks )

If you sell ALL the chicks in a given batch to one person, then they are "straight run"--as hatched.

Or you could let the buyer pick out their own chicks. If they don't know how to sex them, then they will pick based on some other factor (like "it's cute"), and that will be just as much fair to them as if they picked from the straight-run chicks at any other place.

Or you could charge extra for being sure of the gender

 

[LinzeeBrie]

The light birds: I think the one on the left is barred (spot on head, white bars on wing feathers.) The one more to the right, with the stripey head and back, I'm not so sure about. I've seen some barred-like patterns on young birds that do not actually have barring, so not really sure here.



If you sell ALL the chicks in a given batch to one person, then they are "straight run"--as hatched.

Or you could let the buyer pick out their own chicks. If they don't know how to sex them, then they will pick based on some other factor (like "it's cute"), and that will be just as much fair to them as if they picked from the straight-run chicks at any other place.

Or you could charge extra for being sure of the gender

The one to the right ("Amy", due to the Winehouse style eyeliner) is the one who drowned Kate on the left has been a clear boy for a good while.

Would they be sex-linked Easter Eggers then?!