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

[1sttimr]

Can anyone help me figure out if my Bantam EE is a roo or hen? I bought her as a pullet but starting to wonder if she might be a he...? Pics were taken when the chick was 5 weeks and change. I noted the comb was getting reddish compared to the other pullets (different breeds.)

 

[sbrooks88]

Hi everyone! I'm am posting pics of my EE that I can't figure out if its boy or girl! 6 months old and I just took this pic. Plz help me out.

 

[sbrooks88]

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Hi everyone! I'm am posting pics of my EE that I can't figure out if its boy or girl! 6 months old and I just took this pic. Plz help me out.

Definitely a pullet. At 6 months, a cockerel would have long curved tail feathers, pointed shiny saddle and hackle feathers as well, and his comb would be redder and more prominent.


Edited to add:
Aoxa posted this excellent pic pointing out rooster parts. The colors will vary as will size and shape of the comb, but pullets/hens will never have those long pointed shiny feathers. Females have shorter, softly rounded feathers instead. The trick is knowing if the potential rooster is old enough for these feathers to show. Most EE cockerels will start showing saddle feathers at 12-15 weeks, so there will be no mistaking a 6 month old EE pullet even if she has some typical cockerel coloring.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Can anyone help me figure out if my Bantam EE is a roo or hen? I bought her as a pullet but starting to wonder if she might be a he...? Pics were taken when the chick was 5 weeks and change. I noted the comb was getting reddish compared to the other pullets (different breeds.)

Pictures on a computer are not the best for seeing how red a comb is, so I'm not sure what to say about this one. Comb does look more like a cockerel, but overall coloring looks like a pullet so far. Do you see any dark red coming in on the wings? Either way, it's going to be a pretty bird, but I'm leaning toward cockerel. The good news is you only have to wait about a week or so to find out. Can you post a new pic then? Keeping fingers crossed for you.

 

[sbrooks88]

Ok. So even if it walks around with its tail up in the air sometimes? That's what really threw me off! Lolol.

 

[Flowerbh]

Ok. So even if it walks around with its tail up in the air sometimes? That's what really threw me off! Lolol.

You should be getting eggs soon!

 

[sbrooks88]

I hope I will be getting some eggs soon! I have been very patiently waiting for them! I have a few more EE that I am unsure about cause they don't have muffs or beards. Would it be ok if I posted pics of those as well for some insight?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I hope I will be getting some eggs soon! I have been very patiently waiting for them! I have a few more EE that I am unsure about cause they don't have muffs or beards. Would it be ok if I posted pics of those as well for some insight?

Absotively. Post away! My hens mostly walk around with their tails up. A drooping tail would make me check for health problems.

 

[CGinJCMO]

Ok, so my EE chicks are about 3 1/2 weeks old now. I noticed today that I can already see the start of a red comb on some while some are still completely smooth and pale. Is this safe to assume these are cockerels or do I need to wait a few more weeks to be positive?

Not as pronounced as I thought perhaps

You sound like me sbrown. I have noticed a lot of redness to my 6 week old chicks and I go "red comb - boy, red as the other one - boy, not as red but you don't look yellow anymore so I suspect you're a boy too" Then I have two black/whte chicks, and one of them has a black-ish comb..."You seem to be my only hope for a girl because your comb isn't reddening up like the rest, but that comb color makes me wonder what your daddy has in his family tree " Out of 6 babies hatched, I am afraid that I've got 6 cockerels but I keep thinking some of them have to be girls so I look at the combs again. And the daddy comment is because my roo has some walnut or strawberry cushioning influences to his comb. With a chick having a black colored comb...well, silkies are the only black combed chicken I know of. My roo is quite big and doesn't have any silkie like feathers or dark skin so I don't know what to think.

CG