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

[Amy PT]

oh, no...If that's the little brown one....that's a cockerel. Sorry.

Mable is the cream and buff bird. Maybe next week, I'll post some larger photos.

 

[debid]

The tail

I would not sex a chick by tail shape alone. Especially one that has a lot of Mediterranean influence because you know they carry their big tails high and proud.

But, for reference, here are some pics of known pullets with arch/curl in the juvenile tail feathers. Note, one isn't an EE but her tail was really odd so I'm including her.

Here is the more typical pullet tail:

And here is a cockerel juvenile tail:

 

[Tappy4me]

Thanks If the b/w one is a hen, then it sure is trying it's hardest to act like the 2 big roosters haha!

Time will tell. Will post some pics again in a couple of weeks, unless I notice some big changes sooner (or crowing!)

 

[Katt66]

I would not sex a chick by tail shape alone. Especially one that has a lot of Mediterranean influence because you know they carry their big tails high and proud.

But, for reference, here are some pics of known pullets with arch/curl in the juvenile tail feathers. Note, one isn't an EE but her tail was really odd so I'm including her.




Here is the more typical pullet tail:


And here is a cockerel juvenile tail:

Yeah, especially with something as genetically mysterious as an EE. You never know where there might have been some Leghorn or something similar in it's ancestry. My EE hens both have lovely high tails like that. And we had a rooster with no tail at all for the first five or six months of his life.

 

[debid]

Thanks   If the b/w one is a hen, then it sure is trying it's hardest to act like the 2 big roosters haha!

Time will tell. Will post some pics again in a couple of weeks, unless I notice some big changes sooner (or crowing!)

There's always the possibility of a late bloomer. Remember that many cannot be positively identified as female so what we're looking at is an absence of rooster traits past the expected age for them to appear. But that darker EE in my pictures? That's Gertrude and she used to challenge the rooster for lead of the flock. Seriously. Flared hackles, flying at him feet first, the works. She's been known to go for the pin in squabbles with other hens. Nothing wrong hormonally -- she is four now and still producing 5 eggs per week. She's just a tough gal.

 

[danahud]

There's always the possibility of a late bloomer. Remember that many cannot be positively identified as female so what we're looking at is an absence of rooster traits past the expected age for them to appear. But that darker EE in my pictures? That's Gertrude and she used to challenge the rooster for lead of the flock. Seriously. Flared hackles, flying at him feet first, the works. She's been known to go for the pin in squabbles with other hens. Nothing wrong hormonally -- she is four now and still producing 5 eggs per week. She's just a tough gal.

so maybe, there is hope for my little chick after all. It does the same thing. Hackles and flying at others with feet. I was told they had been sexed when i bought them. If she is a rooster I guess Im going to be incubating some eggs to hatch some more.

 

[debid]

so maybe, there is hope for my little chick after all.  It does the same thing. Hackles and flying at others with feet. I was told they had been sexed when i bought them.  If she is a rooster I guess Im going to be incubating some eggs to hatch some more. 

Chick fighting behavior is unreliable as an indicator. However, I went back a few pages and looked at your photos. I think the red patches have started coming in on the wings and the comb appears to be growing before the chick has even finished feathering. 99.5% sure you have a young male.

 

[FVRM]

Can pullets have a little bit if metallic blue on their tail?

 

[debid]

Can pullets have a little bit if metallic blue on their tail?

Yes. Blue, green, or purple iridescence is common on black plumage. Males get a much heftier dose so the feathers really shine but females are rarely flat black themselves.

 

[Dianne88]

Hi, this little baby was hatched on Sat and I'm trying to wing sex him/her. Please let me know what you think I'll post pics of both

wings.
I will make several post because my phone will only let me post one pic in a reply at a time?!?