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

[Wishing4Wings]

@Wishing4Wings It's so hard to see red with the buff. I think there are some darker feathers on the wings coming in on the last roo and up close it looks like he may have inherited a 3 pea comb. PJ is not crowing but her "speaking voice" is the strangest I've ever heard. Very scratchy and almost a squawk. As for OJ, we were looking for a barred rock replacement for the one we lost last year and Orscheln was not getting any in. Just happened to look in the bantam bin and thought a few were barred rocks so we took a chance. She is so little and so cute. She's about 2.5 weeks older than the bantams above but she's about the same size if not a tad bit smaller. And by figuring that I realized I posted the wrong age on DJ and PJ. They are 10 weeks.

10 weeks is even better for pullets! Now I have got to look into bantam rocks. Love barred especially! I have a bantam coop with mostly Seramas that has room for a couple more.

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Quote:
It's so hard to tell at this age, and they do have pullet coloring so far, especially the bottom one, but they can change so quickly. Basically, they are all pullets until you see a signs of a cockerel develop! (usually around 5 weeks) So as long as they don't change too much in the next few weeks, you've got pullets. The combs look like they might be getting 3 rows, instead of the typical single ridge the pullets get. "Typical" leaves a lot of room for variation, so keep an eye on them. I think it's better to be prepared for bad news, just in case, than have it sneak up and bite you.

I will keep my finger crossed!

 

[katatonic123]

@Wishing4Wings Here she is with one of the bantams. She was 6.5 weeks, bantam had just turned 4 weeks and it's squatting.

 

[Indyshent]

I was concerned because I thought it was the tailless/rumpless gene that double dose was lethal. I do have a chick that has ear tufts, I don't remember if it was also the rumpless one too. I like the beards, but it's the comb that I try to watch out for the most...is it turning red and is it staying small and pea-like for blue eggs.

Nope. Ear tufts are double lethal, but rumpless just makes for awkward mating (therefore lower fertility). Strong likelihood it carries blue egg gene (about 97% likelihood with a pea comb, provided he's from blue egg stock and not wholly some other breed that carries a blue egg gene). That you have ear tufts and rumplessness in your flock just means your chicks are much closer to the original blue egg breeds brought over from South America. Plus, they're nifty birds and look pretty flashy

 

[Bruins]

Iris 11 weeks .

.

 

[Bruins]

Hoot 11 weeks.It's hard to see but Hoot has the same comb type and color as Iris .

.

 

[circesfire]

Hoot and Iris both look like pullets. Iris is one pretty chicky!

 

[mymilliefleur]

Hoot and Iris both look like pullets. Iris is one pretty chicky!

Agreed.

 

[KHoward]

How about these three who are all four weeks old?

#1 head only - All white:

#2 body

#2 Head

#3 body

#3 Head

 

[junebuggena]

#3 might be a cockerel. The other two look like pullets for now.