Easter Egger Sexing "tips and tricks" *Pictures Included*

[crollo]

I thought crowing meant rooster, too, but I got suspicious one day and wondered if a hen can make that sound. Go to YouTube and search for "hens crowing." There are a lot of videos of people's egg laying hens crowing. I will post some better pictures later today. This is aggravating because at least 3 of the 4 chickens we bought from a local breeder are or might be roosters when they were all supposed to be pullets. I know it's hard to tell when they are chicks, but a 0-25% rate of accuracy is pretty disappointing.

 

[bruceha2000]

If you got them as day old, or close to that, chicks from a "local breeder" the odds of them being properly sexed is close to 0. The big hatcheries employ profession vent sexers and even they claim only 90% accuracy. The only way to guarantee gender is to wait until they are much older, likely safe by 15 weeks.

 

[junebuggena]

I thought crowing meant rooster, too, but I got suspicious one day and wondered if a hen can make that sound. Go to YouTube and search for "hens crowing." There are a lot of videos of people's egg laying hens crowing. I will post some better pictures later today. This is aggravating because at least 3 of the 4 chickens we bought from a local breeder are or might be roosters when they were all supposed to be pullets. I know it's hard to tell when they are chicks, but a 0-25% rate of accuracy is pretty disappointing.

It's usually older, dominant hens that crow. Not young pullets.

 

[crollo]

Ok, here are some better pics of their bodies.... The white one (its name is Buttercup but we call it Hulk since it has green legs) has more of a "roostery" shaped tail, so it wouldn't surprise me if that was a roo. But the other one is shaped more like a hen and its tail is more, uh, hen-like. I say that based on my extensive 3 months of experience with chickens.

 

[junebuggena]

Ok, here are some better pics of their bodies.... The white one (its name is Buttercup but we call it Hulk since it has green legs) has more of a "roostery" shaped tail, so it wouldn't surprise me if that was a roo. But the other one is shaped more like a hen and its tail is more, uh, hen-like. I say that based on my extensive 3 months of experience with chickens.

Both are male. They both have the 'red patches of doom,' in addition to very obvious male saddle feathers.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I thought crowing meant rooster, too, but I got suspicious one day and wondered if a hen can make that sound. Go to YouTube and search for "hens crowing." There are a lot of videos of people's egg laying hens crowing. I will post some better pictures later today. This is aggravating because at least 3 of the 4 chickens we bought from a local breeder are or might be roosters when they were all supposed to be pullets. I know it's hard to tell when they are chicks, but a 0-25% rate of accuracy is pretty disappointing.

Unless those chicks were 8+ weeks when you got them, there isn't much chance they could have been sexed by a backyard breeder, especially given that they are EE type mixes. Well, there's a chance the person sexed them, but it's 50-50. Sometimes males will show themselves very early, but you aren't usually sure about a pullet until 8 weeks or so. There are some breeds that are autosexing and sexlinks of course, that will greatly increase your chances of accurate sexing on day one, but the breeder has to know what they doing.

 

[tlmancuso]

Is this an Easter egger? She laid her first egg today and it's a light tan. My son is so upset because we were told she was an Ameraucana and going to lay green eggs. I love her though! She's a sweetheart

 

[junebuggena]

Looks like an Easter Egger. And there is never a guarantee of egg color. That's part of the appeal. You never know what color a pullet will lay. 99% of birds sold as Ameraucana are actually Easter Eggers. Ameraucana always have a color/variety specified.

 

[tlmancuso]

Good to know! Thank you. And can the color change at all after she's been laying for a while?

 

[junebuggena]

Good to know! Thank you. And can the color change at all after she's been laying for a while?

No. The color does not change. It's predetermined by genetics. You just can't tell what genes for egg color they have until they actually start laying. The shade may very a bit over the course of a laying cycle, but she will not lay random green or blue eggs.