Could this seriously be true...?

[silkieluvr]

Is it possible to have a mostly pullet producing cockeral??? It seems like almost every batch of eggs someone hatches from our banty barred rocks ends up with either no cockerals, or just 1. It sure is exciting! We just had a perfect quad hatch, looks to be 4 girls and 1 boy

Do you think I'm playing the odds or do I have a pullet producin cockeral on my hands???

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

That is really cool if he is producing few cockerals.

 

[speckledhen]

You have a pullet producing hen, I bet. There is evidence that the hen determines the sex of the chicks, I believe.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Unlike humans where the male XY chromosomes determine the sex of the offspring, in birds it's the female that controls this.

Sex Chromosomes Z-W

Birds, insects like butterflies, and some species of fish have a different system for determining gender. In these animals it is the female gamete that determines the sex of an individual. Female gametes can either contain a Z chromosome or a W chromosome. Male gametes contain only the Z chromosome. Females of these species are ZW and males are ZZ.

 

[Break an Egg]

I read also the shape of the egg will tell you if it's a boy or girl. The more round eggs are girls, and the eggs that are pointy on one side are boys.

I'm not sure if this is true, but maybe it has to do with the eggs you incubate.

 

[speckledhen]

Another old wives tale. .That isn't true or a hen who always produced very round eggs would always produce pullets. No WAY my Lexie, whose eggs are very round, produces girls all the time. My young cockerels prove that one.

 

[FLchook]

Congrats on all your girls...you do realize that now you said it out loud, youll get all boys next time

I wonder if that is true, that a chook can tend to produce more of one sex or the other. Interesting thing to observe though!


Shannon

 

[CarriBrown]

Quote:
I was going to say... Maybe you ought to put your breeding flock into the laying flock and start over!