Easter Egger, boy or girl?

[BirdGirl2004]

So cute! Beautiful! And yes, you've got yourself a roo!

 

[Punkybrewster]

Okay. I was gonna say roo but now y'all got me totally confused!

 

[lilmillefleur]

Also, her saddle, neck and tail feathers are very rounded. Her red comb means she may be laying soon. There are lots of people who asked 'roo or hen?' when they have a curved tail like that, but they end up being hens. It does get confusing!
For me, the dead giveaway is the female specific coloring.

 

[julskinka]

Here is what a female based with that pattern would look like (of course yours does not look exactly like this but notice the red chest):

Here is the male pattern (notice the blue chest):

(images from the kippenjungle calculator)

Yes! And the pattern is nice and consistent, no patchiness or “flair.”

Hmmm, I have 2 Easter Eggers and one is definitely laying already. A nice big sky blue egg, have 2 from her and she's in there trying to lay again. Not sure if she's an early girl but she is laying.

Elissa

Mine also started laying at 6 months. I’m sure there’s a lot of variation there.

 

[Chickylet]

I vote hen too actually. Although I am no expert! But I’ve had hens with a curved tail feather, I don’t see pointed hackle or saddle feathers, the general body shape seems female, and the comb could be just because she’s matured to point of lay. I bet you get eggs really soon, especially if she’s sniffing around the box! Have you seen any squatting or, conversely, mounting or crowing?

All my birds are the same age (got them as day old chicks on March 1st). I have 1 buff orpington laying (smallish eggs, first 2 thin shelled and broke, then changed food to layers food and have rcvd 2 good eggs from her) and 1 Easter Egger has given me 2 hard shelled light blue eggs. This bird in question has been squawking when the girls go into the nesting boxes, and we've found this bird in the nesting boxes alone actually sitting on one of the buffs eggs (we thought it might be her egg but Im pretty sure its the buffs after watching this morning). So I thought this was a girl and getting ready to lay, but then I saw her this morning trying to fit into the nesting box w/ my other Easter Egger who has produced and it made me wonder if its not a hen but a rooster w/ other ideas.

I just went out and checked again and locked this bird out of the coop/run while someone is in the nesting box and this bird is pacing all around the run trying to figure out how to get in,,,, I feel so helpless not knowing if it's a boy (which our town does not allow roosters) or if it's a girl learning how to do what she should be doing.....

No crowing that I'm aware of. Not an aggressive bird, mid level of the pack I would say.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

It’s a point of lay pullet. I’ve seen many Easter Egger pullets/hens with longer tail feathers that look almost like sickle feathers.

 

[lilmillefleur]

Don't fret.
I have compiled all the evidence that she is a girl!

1. Her coloring is female specific. Red chest, no patchiness.
2. Her feathers are very round, unlike a rooster's.
3. She has been eyeing and going inside the nest box.
4. She came sexed as female. (Though this alone would not be much evidence)
5. She isn't crowing.

The only reason some think she's a rooster is the curved feather. Which happens sometimes.

 

[deepbluesea]

I think she's a pullet who's getting ready to lay. My girls will try to cram two and three to a nest box even though I have three of them. The weirdos.

 

[JurassicBawk]

Despite the one weird long tail feather, everything else says point of lay pullet to me. I don't see a single pointed rooster-specific feather anywhere as even the cascading tail feathers are very rounded, the comb color is point of lay appropriate (and there are no wattles on this EE,) the stance is henlike instead of upright like a male, the coloration is female specific and very much like one of mine, and piling on top of other birds in the nest box is something my girls do all the time. In fact, I had to remove the divider of their 2 nest boxes and make it one large one because I'd have one side empty and 3 piled up yelling up a storm on the other side.

My EEs did take a bit longer to lay, but if you've already got one laying at the same age then I'd say chances of that being a pullet are very high. One of my original 4 sexed chicks did turn into a male, but at 4 months he had long pointy saddle feathers, was trying to crow, and had a comb twice the size of the others. So, from my experience... pullet. Good luck.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Pullet who will be laying soon. I don't see anything about this bird that says its a cockerel. There's no male saddle feathers, no male coloring.... pullet all the way.