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

[salt and pepper]

I'd put money on cockerel! That row of well-defined peas already pinking up at three weeks is exactly what I saw on my EE cockerel. He got the drops of deep red appearing on the wing bow and upper back about the same time.

Thank you =) I don't mind, as long as it's sibling is a pullet!

 

[marney410]

I know it's too early to tell for sure since these two are only 3 weeks old, but I'm wondering I the one on the left could be a roo. Opinions? Thanks!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

marney, I think it would help to have a closer picture of both. I don't see anything about the left one that is particularly rooish.

 

[marney410]

I'll get a clearer one. I'm trying to photograph them weekly to document their development, but it's getting more difficult to get them to stand still long enough to get a pic of them together

 

[ChickenChatten]

Well now, I'd hold off on getting rid of this one for a couple of weeks. Wait for the comb to look more like your white&black probable cockerel before doing anything hasty. The color pattern is spread fairly evenly, so a pullet is possible I think. Too pretty not to be absolutely sure. At 6 weeks it's usually the pullets that are not friendly, so behavior-wise, it's often the friendly youngsters that are males.

The black fluffy feathers under the beak make the beard. Muffs are the fluffs in the "cheek" area. EEs usually don't have wattles, and when the beard is absent, the chicken looks really different!

Post pics next week, if you can. I'd really like to see how both look. Keep comparing combs.

I plan on keeping them for awhile yet to determine which roo is "worthy enough" to earn his stay, whether or not this chick is a rooster or no.

Thanks for the clarification over beards and muffs! I'd been curious for awhile. I'll make sure to post updates on them this Saturday (Picture Day!). Thank you so much for your help!

 

[MNickoloff]

That big, white patch on the wing is very suspicious. Was this chick a chipmunk striped baby?

I have a chipmunk striped baby. What does that mean?

 

[debid]

I have a chipmunk striped baby. What does that mean?

Duck wing base. I think they are easier to sex because you can usually see enough of that underlying gender-specific patterning to tell even if there is a bunch of other stuff going on. And yeah, those wing patches are significant even if they stay white.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I'll get a clearer one. I'm trying to photograph them weekly to document their development, but it's getting more difficult to get them to stand still long enough to get a pic of them together

Maybe someone could hold them for you. That's what I always had to do, otherwise all my chick pics would be of their backsides!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Quote:
debid, could you explain what "duck wing" is? Maybe even post a picture? I've heard that phrase a lot but am not exactly clear what it means.

 

[debid]

debid, could you explain what "duck wing" is?  Maybe even post a picture? I've heard that phrase a lot but am not exactly clear what it means.

I'm on a tablet -- photos are a pain on the mobile version of this site. Google Gold duck wing chicken and silver duckwing chicken and you'll see countless examples. Note the wing patches on the males while the females have a drab, evenly patterned back. So, those patches are what most often give away a male that starts off striped.