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

[rlhagan56]

I knew when I bought these chicks that the chick on the top left in the second picture and second 4 week old in the first picture next to the gold one is a roo. It always was larger and had thicker longer legs than the others. Now it is getting a few rust colored feather coming in at the shoulder area. They are 5 1/2 weeks now. In another week we will see what grows out lol cause I still think its a rooster.

 

[kristaschics15]

I knew when I bought these chicks that the chick on the top left in the second picture and second 4 week old in the first picture next to the gold one is a roo. It always was larger and had thicker longer legs than the others. Now it is getting a few rust colored feather coming in at the shoulder area. They are 5 1/2 weeks now. In another week we will see what grows out lol cause I still think its a rooster.

Oh no one of mine looks like that at 4 weeks.

 

[curious chickee]

Curious - Pullet (or PUPO Pullet until proven otherwise) I really think it's a girl though. LOVE the beard. The one you posted second that looks like mine - i guess we may both have clean faces, too. funny.

That is what I am hoping, it was clean shaven as a chick, I thought she was a New Hampshire until I brought it home. First chicks of season at feed store about 40 people trying to get chicks. I asked for 5 barred rocks and the two yellow chicks from the straight run bin. Then I noticed it had gray shades on the yellow fluff and gray legs. My two chicks looked identical until their head feathers grew in. One grew in red/ orange and the other gray.

 

[ElysianAcres]

We hatched 8 new EE mixes 7 weeks ago, and I have a few of them figured out "for sure" as males due to their bright red combs, but there are a couple of them that have me stumped. One is a PR/EE mix, the others are "pure" EE (dad was silver, mom partridge). I've numbered them 1-4 below, I'd really appreciate any thoughts about what we've got!

I'm Back, with the answers! I don't know how/if I can edit my original post back on page 7 hundred and something, so I'll just post the answers here:
#1- PULLET
#2- PULLET
#3- COCKEREL
#4- COCKEREL

We unfortunately lost #3 and #4 to a terribly unsuccessful flock integration attempt, but the girls, #1 and 2, are happy and their faces are starting to redden a bit. Hoping for some beautiful eggs soon!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

ElysianAcres, great update! I would have pegged #2 as a cockerel. Always good to wait until they crow!

 

[jeanetteiacovon]

Can anyone tell me the age a cockerel will crow if she turns out to be a he? Thanks

 

[jeanetteiacovon]

It's not pretty.  They press down on either side of the vent to expose part of the inside.  Males will have a small lump that females don't have (or I could have got that backwards).  This is done on the first day after hatch, by people who have had extensive training.  90% accuracy is the most common claim, but you can imagine how many mistakes a newbie would make! They don't vent sex bantams, too small and fragile.  There are videos out there showing the technique, but I would worry about hurting a chick so I've never been tempted to try it.


I've only read a little about primary feather sexing.  There are some breeds for which this works, but only if the trait is diligently maintained by careful breeding (ie, not in the big hatcheries).  It has to be checked in the first few days after hatch, and you look at the emerging primaries.  One sex has longer feathers, or one sex has feathers of differing lengths on the wing.  Again, can't remember exactly how it works.  I imagine there are lots of birds out there that might have this trait, but without consistent breeding, it's probably not that reliable.

I thought that an other way was possible but I guess not. I would be afraid of hurting a chick to vent sex them also. I watched it on utube. They look so uncomfortable, poor babies. Thanks for the info

 

[Wishing4Wings]

The age will vary. Some mature more quickly- I've heard of crowing by 5 wks. Some mature later- I've heard of no crowing until almost 20 wks, but there were other more mature males around. I think most probably start by 8-13 weeks, but we'll see what experiences other people have had.

 

[eagrbeavr]

In vent sexing, the little bump is a boy, with wings, alternating feather lengths are girls

 

[GarciasRIRs]

So I'm thinking I may have two cockerels here. One is getting a very red comb... The other, not so sure. I'm really hoping I'm wrong. Any help here would be great. Thanks!! I'm a newbie to the world of chickens and appreciate all of the knowledge here!!

This is the first one..

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And this is the second one...