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

[polarbearpilot]

Thanks for your help PolarBear! I love your name I'm in NP, AK! Here are all of their combs. I'll start with my Amerecaunas (however you spell it). They are around 9 weeks now:



Sparkles:



EE mixes- Penny:

Such pretty girls. I love the white beard on Penny's face.

 

[polarbearpilot]

Interesting, I have had very good accuracy picking pullets out of the TSC chick bins using feather sexing. The one I think I may have been wrong on was killed by the neighbors dog before I could tell for sure if it was a roo or a pullet. A friend taught me to do it, and she has also had similar accuracy. This has worked with EE, Wyandottes, Bantam chicks, Australorp, Welsummer, Specked Susseck, and Tetra Tint. They do have to be very young chicks that are just starting their wing feathers.

If it works for you, stick with it. Maybe, hatcheries use stock that happen to carry the wing sexing 'gene.' I know it didn't work for me when I tried sexing EE chicks hatched from random backyard chickens mixed with EE rooster.

 

[debid]

ITA w/polarbear on the pics for afreeman0405.

The blue gal is the only one that gave me pause because I've seen a few males hide past 9 weeks but there is no red on the wing/back and the comb doesn't appear to be growing so I'll say most likely female.

 

[debid]

If it works for you, stick with it. Maybe, hatcheries use stock that happen to carry the wing sexing 'gene.' I know it didn't work for me when I tried sexing EE chicks hatched from random backyard chickens mixed with EE rooster.

There isn't a wing sexing gene. It's accomplished by maintaining two lines -- one fast feathering and one slow -- and then mixing them with the male fast and female slow for a F1 result. Saying it happens universally is like saying white downed chicks are male because white red sexlink chicks are male. You'll be right 50% of the time, doesn't make it true.

 

[Blooie]

There isn't a wing sexing gene. It's accomplished by maintaining two lines -- one fast feathering and one slow -- and then mixing them with the male fast and female slow for a F1 result. Saying it happens universally is like saying white downed chicks are male because white red sexlink chicks are male. You'll be right 50% of the time, doesn't make it true.

Reminds of what my dad used to say, "Even a stopped watch is right twice a day."

 

[debid]

Reminds of what my dad used to say, "Even a stopped watch is right twice a day."  

Exactly. And human inclination is to remember the times they got it right and forget the times they didn't yielding a magically accurate broken watch!

 

[polarbearpilot]

There isn't a wing sexing gene. It's accomplished by maintaining two lines -- one fast feathering and one slow -- and then mixing them with the male fast and female slow for a F1 result. Saying it happens universally is like saying white downed chicks are male because white red sexlink chicks are male. You'll be right 50% of the time, doesn't make it true.

Did you see I put gene in quotes? I KNOW there isn't a gene, but it's TOO LENGHTY explaining it the way you did.

 

[debid]

Did you see I put gene in quotes? I KNOW there isn't a gene, but it's TOO LENGHTY explaining it the way you did.

Yes, I understood. However, lots of newbies are reading here and some will see it and not catch the sarcasm. Better to not say anything than to contribute to the already abundant misinformation on the subject.

 

[Blooie]

Reminds of what my dad used to say, "Even a stopped watch is right twice a day."

I didn't mean to be disrespectful.....all I meant was that, as far as I've been able to tell, the only way to know if an EE is a pullet or a cockerel is to do the proverbial "wait until it lays or crows." I must be denser than most. Seems every time someone determines the sex of an EE by color or comb or patches or whatever, there's an exception and I get confused all over again. So after posting pics of mine and getting a consensus (which was about half and half) I've simply decided that I'm going to be doing well to get it right half the time and that's based on guesses rather than certainty. I do apologize.

 

[afreeman0405]

I believe these chicks above are boys. What happened to Martha's back?

Nothing happened, just the way I was holding her. SO you think Molly and Martha are boys too :/ Or ALL of them?