Dear bob pros, can we sex my bob chicks yet?! *pic*

[JJMR794]

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Are you kidding me?! *falls over* Okay I will practice my patience. Bobs mature slower than others, huh?

OH YES! THE FASTER SMALLER STRAINS MATURE IN ABOUT 24-28 WKS, THE SLOWER LARGER ONES MAY TAKE 36+WKS

 

[The Critter Place]

Guess I was way off with the 18 weeks.

 

[Missi]

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Are you kidding me?! *falls over* Okay I will practice my patience. Bobs mature slower than others, huh?

OH YES! THE FASTER SMALLER STRAINS MATURE IN ABOUT 24-28 WKS, THE SLOWER LARGER ONES MAY TAKE 36+WKS

*falls over again*

 

[Chinchilla2]

Just a guess here based on previous experience but looks like 2 roos (far left and one closest to door / camera), 2 hens (second left and far right) and the angle is a bit wrong for the third one in the back but maybe hen. At 4 to 6 weeks of age, the males start to develop a little bit more vibrant coloration to their wings and a shading towards the back of the neck where the black collar or lower edge of the mask will be. It's not a 100% accuracy but I've been right more time than wrong on this.

At this stage of the game, all of 'em will have a white mask, making it hard to sex them from that. Even with the really good lighting I can see where it is nowhere near as bright a white as the males will eventually be. The females will darken a bit and, as they go into their final molt for adult feathers, develop a coffee and cream color while the males will become a nice bright snow white.

When it comes to bobs and names, I always employ this method, EVERYONE is Bobby.... as they grow and I can tell the differences, males become Joe Bob, John Bob, Billy Bo Bob, etc. while females are Bobbie Sue, Bobbie Ann, etc.

Just don't ask what I call my two silver sussexes

 

[Missi]

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LOL

Thank you for your opinion! This gives me hope that I don't have a batchelor flock!

Oh guys, I had a close look at them last night & they are all starting to get dark black on their lower beaks.

 

[Chinchilla2]

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Yeah, they lose that pretty orangy pink baby beak and it darkens as they age into adults. My three week olds are already less colorful on the beaks than they were a few days ago. My adult hen has a darker beak than my adult male right now.

You mentioned that the person you got them from had both Wisconsins and Georgias. As they grow, the Georgias will wind up with a broader breast area than the Wisconsins, or at least they appear to from my experience. What is funny is when you are brooding 4 Butlers in with Georgias and Wisconsins. They start out about the same size but now I have four chicks that are about the 6 week size that tower over the other ones. If I suddenly appear at the brooder, all the smaller ones run up under these four bigger chicks like they are hiding under Mommy. I'm hoping I don't wind up with Butler males with gender issues later

 

[Missi]

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Yeah, they lose that pretty orangy pink baby beak and it darkens as they age into adults. My three week olds are already less colorful on the beaks than they were a few days ago. My adult hen has a darker beak than my adult male right now.

I've never heard of Wisconsin bobwhite. Do you mean Northern?

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LOL Thanks for the laugh!!!

 

[juniorf150]

awwww so cute

 

[Chinchilla2]

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Not these. These are normally referred to as a Jumbo or Jumbo Wisconsin. They have a slightly heavier muscle structure than the standard Northern. A friend swears he can tell the difference between them just by looking but I have to pick them up and "feel" the weight and heft differences.

Now the Butlers and Georgias are a different story. The Georgias have an obviously larger breast area while the Butlers look like an ostrich in the middle of a bunch of naked necks (over stating the difference but you get the idea).