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

[lablover]

Color genetics is not something I know a great deal about. It takes some care to keep the intended varieties going, and a partridge pattern seems to be common when you mix varieties. Hopefully someone can give you more info. By the way, this looks like a little cockerel to me, but give it time, way too early to be sure yet.

Is it the comb or stance that says roo to you? The comb looks a lot more noticeable in the pic. I worried about that when posting it. I look at it every day lol, just hoping for a girl! I'm afraid I won't be able to rehome this chick if it is a boy. I'm already attached... I already have 1 roo, and 8 hens. Might have more if a few of these chicks are hens.

 

[mwells6chicks]

Looks like a cockerel to me too. Beautiful colors too. A few more weeks and you might know more.

 

[Demidog]

Can anyone help decide if this is a hen or a roo? My chickens are mixed, not Easter eggers, but this thread is the most active so I'm guessing I'll get more responses.

It's the white one in the pictures. It's about 13 weeks, the oldest out of my chickens but it's much smaller than the other roos which are younger and have massive red combs. This one's comb is really small in comparison although it's also red. I'm hoping it's a hen but the red is making me think it's a roo.

What do you think?














Here is some of my other roos for comparison. All the others are like this with massive red combs plus they're crowing, clearly roos. Front 3 im sure are hens, back 3 black ones are roos.

 

[kenzier093]

I know it's way early to know the sex, but has anyone had one that looked like this? She

is my favorite of the four chicks one of my EEs hatched. As far as I know, (I put the eggs under the hen) the broody is not the mother. The mother is an EE and the father a New Hampshire mix. Again, I now it's early.... One of the others looks like a black sex link pullet (I have a barred rock hen). The other two have EE patterns, but single combs, so I have no clue on them. Can that brown partridge pattern that the mother has come from just about any color pairing?

It's looking like a cockerel I think, but too early yet. Sort of looks like mine that turned out to be a beautiful roo.

My roo back in march.

This picture was taken about a month ago of him.

 

[lablover]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts, but what about the chick says roo? Just wondering so I can know what to watch. This isn't my first batch of chicks, and certainly not my first EE. It's always fun to watch them grow, but nerve racking when your favorite starts to look like a roo. That's how it always goes with mine lol.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Quote: It's a combination of things. Saw a pink wide comb on a young looking chick, but pics don't always show the reality. Then noticed the beautiful coloring on the wings was patchy, not evenly spread. The color pattern tends to tell the story more than combs or stance, especially on the young ones. The last picture showing the stance did not look pullet-ish either, so all three categories got a check in the cockerel column from me. Of course it is really just guess work, only time will tell for sure. Sounds liked you're already hooked on this one, so I'd love to see how it looks when it's older. Raising a cockerel with an adult rooster can work pretty well if the youngster accepts the submissive position. How old is it in the pics?

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Can anyone help decide if this is a hen or a roo? My chickens are mixed, not Easter eggers, but this thread is the most active so I'm guessing I'll get more responses.

It's the white one in the pictures. It's about 13 weeks, the oldest out of my chickens but it's much smaller than the other roos which are younger and have massive red combs. This one's comb is really small in comparison although it's also red. I'm hoping it's a hen but the red is making me think it's a roo.

What do you think?




Here is some of my other roos for comparison. All the others are like this with massive red combs plus they're crowing, clearly roos. Front 3 im sure are hens, back 3 black ones are roos.

I think it's probably a cockerel because of the red face/comb. We have a tiny Serama cockerel that was red very early, but had a really small comb compared to his larger "brothers" who both crowed for over a month before his first try. None of the pullets have any red at all, so I think it's a pretty reliable trait.

 

[lablover]

It's a combination of things. Saw a pink wide comb on a young looking chick, but pics don't always show the reality. Then noticed the beautiful coloring on the wings was patchy, not evenly spread. The color pattern tends to tell the story more than combs or stance, especially on the young ones. The last picture showing the stance did not look pullet-ish either, so all three categories got a check in the cockerel column from me. Of course it is really just guess work, only time will tell for sure. Sounds liked you're already hooked on this one, so I'd love to see how it looks when it's older. Raising a cockerel with an adult rooster can work pretty well if the youngster accepts the submissive position. How old is it in the pics?

The first pic was taken at about 17 days, and the other two were from yesterday at 20 days. I got a better look at the comb today, but of course didn't have a camera. It's just slightly protruding at the top, and didn't look pink. All of my comb pics look worse than they actually are, so I always that into consideration. Also, to get the pic from yesterday, I had to chase it around a bit which had the mother upset, so that could explain the stance. I can't go by the pattern because it doesn't seem to have a smooth set of wing feathers yet. It looks like they're still pooping through to me, so maybe that's why I don't see a splotchy pattern. So I do understand that it's hard to tell just by a picture. They're not the best quality, so I will get more pics with a real camera. However, I was watching them all today and noticed that this one and another one had more erect tails, (if that means anything) while the other two didn't. I've been meaning to ask how raising a cockerel with a roo would work, so I will keep that in mind as well. I really can't see rehoming this one lol, so I hope it works out.
Here's another from day 17. I'll keep an eye on the patterning though.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

The first pic was taken at about 17 days, and the other two were from yesterday at 20 days. I got a better look at the comb today, but of course didn't have a camera. It's just slightly protruding at the top, and didn't look pink. All of my comb pics look worse than they actually are, so I always that into consideration. Also, to get the pic from yesterday, I had to chase it around a bit which had the mother upset, so that could explain the stance. I can't go by the pattern because it doesn't seem to have a smooth set of wing feathers yet. It looks like they're still pooping through to me, so maybe that's why I don't see a splotchy pattern. So I do understand that it's hard to tell just by a picture. They're not the best quality, so I will get more pics with a real camera. However, I was watching them all today and noticed that this one and another one had more erect tails, (if that means anything) while the other two didn't. I've been meaning to ask how raising a cockerel with a roo would work, so I will keep that in mind as well. I really can't see rehoming this one lol, so I hope it works out.
Here's another from day 17. I'll keep an eye on the patterning though.

Looks more pullet in the pic above. Very different from the one below. Can you post an update in a week or two? Maybe it will be more clear then. Fingers crossed for you.

 

[mama2molly]

I have a pullet that grew up looking a lot like yours. People were skeptical she was a she, but I am 99.9% positive now. Just waiting on the .1% egg!

Here she is around 8 weeks I believe. I haven't taken any more recently, but she is 17 weeks now. She is beautiful and her color has really evened out. Good luck to you!!!