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

[AZ CHICK]

Hello! I wanted to share a post regarding telltale signs you have an Easter Egger cockerel. /img/smilies/smile.png This was only my experience, and I hope it helps somebody identify whether they have girls or boys. Basically this is not a for sure guide, just hopefully a helpful post. /img/smilies/smile.png


I was able to tell my cockerel at around 4-6 weeks old, and here are a few pictures to help.


(Sulo's tail feathers are narrow and upright.)

This is Munk an Easter Egger pullet to compare. Same age, but the feathering in is very different. Sulo's "big boy" feathers came in later then Munk's "big girl" feathers.

Sulo and Munk. (same breed/age just to see the difference)

Hope this helps someone! Easter Eggers are hard to sex, and this may not be every case, but it certainly was here and I hope these differences help people tell who is who /img/smilies/smile.png/img/smilies/smile.png

 

[AZ CHICK]

This is very helpful information. Thank you for posting all the pics. I have now determined my beautiful Sundae is a roo. Out of the 9 chicks we got, we now know two of them roosters :-(

 

[polarbearpilot]

Unless you are breeding for wing sexing, it isn't accurate. There is a ton of misinformation shared about it so I'll direct you to a link rather than trying to explain why it isn't reliable on random chicks or certain breeds:

www.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/Factsheets/Sexing_day_old_chicks.pdf

Thank you debid for the link to very helpful information. I wish it was easy to tell the sex. Sigh...

 

[my sunwolf]

Please help, I have 5 chicks 6 - 7 wks old, got them at 1 day to 1 wks old, and all are doing well. On Saturday a friend gave gave me 2 easter eggers that he said were 8 wks old. My problem - my sweet little chicks are attacking the EE's not to mention I think one of them may be a roo. The friend who has had chickens for a long time said to just put them in with the ones I have, that they were all young and would settle down in a day or so. Well today is Monday and it's not getting any better in fact my chicks attack every chance they get and have pulled the feathers out of the back of one of the EE. Please tell me what to do, I don't have any where to put the 2 EE's and I would like to know if you think one is a roo






The one on the left I think maybe a roo the one on the right I am hoping is a hen
Please help a new chicken person

I think you're right!

 

[Mychicagoladies]

Can anyone tell me if my avatar is a roo. It has a 3 row comb and dark red splashes on its back feathers, it also was the last to get all its feathers and the first to get a pink comb which is now redder. its about 8 wks in the picture. Thanks for any help I live in the city and we are allowed to have roosters if no one complaines about the noise. I hope to keep it because it is my favorite chick.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Can anyone tell me if my avatar is a roo. It has a 3 row comb and dark red splashes on its back feathers, it also was the last to get all its feathers and the first to get a pink comb which is now redder. its about 8 wks in the picture. Thanks for any help I live in the city and we are allowed to have roosters if no one complaines about the noise. I hope to keep it because it is my favorite chick.

From the bit I could see and from your description it is likely a roo. That's a good law, allowing the potential to keep a rooster. Start supplying the neighbors with fresh eggs asap and maybe no one will complain.

 

[kian]

Kian, the pointy, curling tail looks very familiar. Combined with the defined and reddish comb, I strongly suspect cockerel. But no, those aren't pointy hackles yet. You'll know them when you see them -- very skinny and glossy plus there will be a matching saddle. At 12 weeks, you might be able to see the rooster saddles emerging if you look between the feathers on the lower back.

Thank you. So far, out of the 4 "pullets" sold, it looks like 2 boys 2 girls.

 

[kian]

I noticed the same thing on my cockerel. I'm brand new at the chicken raising thing.. but I thought from the time our chicks were about 5-6 weeks old, something was different about Spots. He's our Americauna. Same upright, narrow tail. Very interesting that our experiences are the same!

It is! So annoying though when they were all sold as "pullets". Personally I think that if you aren't sure, then sell them as straight run! Then people know to expect possible boys!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

It is! So annoying though when they were all sold as "pullets". Personally I think that if you aren't sure, then sell them as straight run! Then people know to expect possible boys!

Even in sexed pullets, the hatcheries tell you to expect possible boys. There's no way to be 100% accurate vent-sexing chicks. No hatchery guarantees a better than 90% success rate in sexing. That means that up to one in ten "pullets" could be male. In a pen of 100 birds with 10 males, it's accurate to say those are sexed pullets, not straight run.

 

[mommameg]

I'm new at raising chickens, too, so I've not encountered the integration problem you're having, but I read up a good bit on the subject before we started, and I'll tell you what I read. In the event that you have to add new chickens to an established flock, the pecking order is thrown off. So the flock is going to peck at the new ones to make sure that they stay where they are in the pecking order!
So the book I read suggested putting the new chicks in a wire cage (big enough for them to live in comfortably for a time) inside the pen where the rest of the flock stays. That way, they can get used to seeing the newcomers around without harming them. I don't know how long you're supposed to keep it like that, but I'd imagine that it would be up to your own judgement, since you'll see how the birds interact every day. Hope this helps!