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

[jan12]

I have an easter egger that I thought was a pullet but her comb just turned pink at 7 weeks, so I could use some advice. Pullet or cockerel?

 

[Katt66]

Thank you chickenluver555 and Nickeechickee for the replies.

I don't know if it makes any difference with the sexing based on coloration but here's pics of their father and mothers for reference.

Daddy, Goldencrown,


And the 2 Mommies, Angie and Kate,


See, they make me confused because though a few of my babies have red feathering on them, if they're Angie's chicks crossed with this particular rooster, I'd expect them to be at least party red because she is bright ginger red herself. Though the color pattern on the first chick in my first post on the previous page is just like their father except he's black where the father is silver.

Angie's also got a huge narrow tail and they've both got extremely red combs that scream young rooster to me though they're both going on seven years old and have been laying eggs for over six years now.

 

[SA Farm]

I'm thinking two hens and a roo with these three. Any ideas?
They're about 8 weeks here.




The one I think is a roo since the tail feathers are starting to curve and point a bit...


Why is it so much easier to tell when you look at other people's birds compared to your own?

 

[NickyPick]

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

I'm way behind (page 385), but I call this the EE fan tail. It's pretty distinctive. I'm hoping to catch up to the end of the thread soon and post some pics of my 13 & 17 week old cockerels.

One thing I've noticed in the chicks, is about 90-95% of the time, if it's starting to grow a tail by a week, it's usually a pullet. The boys are pretty slow on starting their tails. I had one exception this hatch group, but I realized, that even with a slow growing tail, as soon as she started feathering in all orange, she was a she. Threw me for a while, tho.

 

[MaineiacJay]

so my chicks are a bit older now (3 weeks) and it seems my "mystery" chick is an Easter Egger, even though i had 2 EE pullets in the order already. frustrating...

anyways, im thinking its a cockerel because its not feathering in as fast as the 2 pullets, but figured id post here anyways. might be too young to tell, but here we go!



the chick in question is on the left. an EE pullet from the same order is on the right.


and comb...

 

[NickyPick]

Here's my boys. First, the father, which is my 2+ year old EE from my first ever batch of chickens. He's Mr. Feathers. He's so funny when he walks - his spurs are almost 3 inches long, so he kinda waddles in order to not trip!!




This is Conan, one of the 2 17 week olds. His tail is really pathetic. He had two ratty long feathers, but one has fallen off and the rest aren't much to look at. He's really beefy.



This is Sandy - the other 17 week old. I thought he was a pullet for the longest time as he was a solid buff color (his mom was most likely the buff Orp), but around 10 weeks, the red suddenly sprouted on his shoulders, so there was no mistaking that he was a boy instead.




Of the 3 13 week olds, I know I'll be keeping one. I'm leaning towards the black bearded one, just because his color is a little different. Man, I would LOVE to have one of those white/grey/red boys y'all keep posting pics of.

#1 - red boy behind the pullet, Jasper. I love her departure from the usual orange/orange beard pullet color. The cockerel is nice, but too close to Mr. Feathers in color for my tastes.


#2 the Red boy in front. Interesting red/black color pattern. (I love the Mr. Feathers/Australorp mix EE pullet behind him - solid black with beard). You can see my fave, the black beard on the ground in the back.


#3 - best shot I've been able to get of Black Beard. The younger chicks are still leery of the older ones, so they spend most of their time in a group in the stalls, The lighting in there is horrible for pictures.

 

[NickyPick]

Some of my pullets, 17 weeks. Mr. Feathers is the father of all.

This is Diamond. Mom is a New Hampshire/Leghorn cross




Pearl - same mom as Diamond (also younger pic - from back in June) See the lovely EE fan tail? <g>


Raisin - love the departure from the typical orange on the body, but with the same head pattern.


Torquoise - typical orange pattern, but no beard


Tourmaline - also typical orange, but I love the flair of the feathers on her neck!



And this is Gypsum - she came in my order from McMurray this year. Was supposed to be one of my New Hampshires, but it was obvious what she was pretty early. Can't hide that beard! She does have the black underpinning that the other NH's have, so maybe one of McMurray's hens got a little something on the side <g>

 

[Flowerbh]

Don't forget to watch Larry the Cable Guy on "Only in America" on the History channel this Wednesday. He will be at Cackles Hatchery. Should be interesting.

 

[quailtrail]

Love seeing everyone's pics!!!! I can't believe we have only had ours 4 days and how much I adore them!!!

♡

♡ We have let them out roaming here and there - boy its a challenge getting them back in lol!!

 

[MadamContrary]

Okay I know camera quality is not that great, sorry. This is Athena, I had posted about a month here on this thread and everyone was pretty unanimous on the girl verdict. This last photo is from about 2 weeks ago, the rest from today. 12 weeks old now and since we removed my only known rooster her posture has changed and I noticed the feathers in the saddle area are really curvy but not really pointed. Her comb is the darkest pink and most developed of all my chickens. I was certain she was a she until I went out there today. Please tell me I am crazy!






These photos are the 8-9 week old pics I posted last time for reference, thanks for the help!