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

[my sunwolf]

Here are some shots of my 5 week old EE's. What do you think?

Chick #1 - Im thinking pullet on this one.





Chick #2 - I dont know on this one. Looks like a bigger comb than the chick above, but it isnt huge...

Yep, that first one looks a lot like the "golden head" (or "golden campinesque") girl I posted. The second one looks a lot like my pullets. I'm 80% sure those are pullets at this point!

 

[debid]

Cockle-Dood, yours are both female. Pullet #2 looks exactly like one that I have and she's grown and laying blue-green eggs.

 

[Cockle-Dood]

2 pullets, thats great! i really cant wait to see how they feather out, especially the first one with the golden head. have been calling them Bonnie and Clyde, but i gues Clyde is gonna have to go through a name change! lol!

 

[debid]

I named my Clyde lookalike Gertrude but she's earned the nickname "crazy Gertie". Her comb looks rose x pea which gives it a wide look as a chick and makes me think she has a good dose of Wyandotte blood.

 

[Cockle-Dood]

im thinking i may go with bonnie and connie...and if i pick up a roo, he will be donnie!

 

[bruceha2000]

Pointed hackle and saddles don't appear on males until at least 10 weeks, usually more like 12-20 weeks. At the age of that chick, both males and females will have rounded feathers.

Thanks for the clarification. I thought I had seen people posting about pointed hackle (not saddles) on much younger birds.

I guess Clyde is gonna have to go through a name change! lol!

Well, a name change IS a lot easier than "gender reassignment"

Bruce

 

[ChickenChatten]

Like Jordan's bird below, the hackle feathers seem to be rounded which suggests girl. And the rusty red being on the back, between the wings, is not the "normal" on the shoulder position. Also agree that the typical red I've seen posted is more red than rust which yours is not

Reddish orange feathers all over the body would suggest you will get a beautiful orange bird - like mine

Bruce

Thank you! Wow that's a pretty hen! My little chicks featherse coming in do look to be the same color that yours feathers are, so now I have my fingers crossed that they'll end up looking alike! I want a such a pretty bird! Haha. Thanks again for the help!

 

[Deerling]

Bruce

Wow, Bruce! She is so lovely. Do you have any idea what her parents looked like? I would love a pretty girl like that some day. I just love EEs

 

[bruceha2000]

Wow, Bruce! She is so lovely. Do you have any idea what her parents looked like? I would love a pretty girl like that some day. I just love EEs

Not a clue. All my girls came as 2 day old chicks in a box from Ideal Poultry last June.

This is the other EE:

A week or so old







Close up of the feathers


I don't know if the 2 EEs share any parent genes. I would ASSUME that Ideal has a number of breeding roosters and hens.
I really don't know the hatchery business but I have to think it would be hard for them to breed for specific traits since the eggs hatch and the chicks are sent all over the country the next day. No way for them to know how the birds turn out.

Bruce

 

[huffchickens]

Does anyone have any thoughts on my 4 week old EE's: Here is the first one(above) that I suspect is a pullet. Single comb right now and starting to get salmon colored feathers on breast.

Here is the second one that I think is a ROO. He has very big legs and feet and is much bigger than other chicks. His comb also developed 3 ridges very early and is bigger than the others. However, he hardly has any tail feathers. He has been slow to feather also.


One more of the second one:




Here is the third one. I am not sure about he/she, but he/she does have a 3 ridge comb already. Not sure if that means anything or not. This chick also has very developed tail feathers.




Any thoughts? I have these 3 along with 8 Red Sex Links. I have noticed that the EE's are scared of me for some reason, but the Red Sex Links are all over me.