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

[bruceha2000]

Yeah, I had to wait the full 11 weeks before telling Meyer they sent me a miss-sexed chick. I knew WAY before then. They actually refunded the full price of the chick even though their policy is the difference between a male and female.

 

[Norah22]

I noticed the OP said that many Easter Eggers could be sexed. I did not read through all 1347 pages, so I was wondering if anyone had a pic of a female and male baby chick (less than 1 week old) that shows the differences?

Thank you!

From what I know, feather sexing does not work well on baby EEs, but an early indication would be slightly larger size for males (in some cases) or slower feathering out. Anyway, mostly for fun, here are some pics of male and female week old EEs.

Male:

Notice the large body with smaller wings...

Same little roo at around 4 weeks I believe:

You can just see how vibrant the coloring is. And look at how red and large the comb is. This guy was honestly so nice, even after he started crowing!

Female:

This little gal was so sweet...

Same little gal at 4 weeks:

It's subtle, but you can see that she is a little more feathered out at this point than the cockerel above.

Another female:

You can see on this one that the wing is larger and more feathered out than the male of same age.

Same gal at 4 weeks:

And the main difference at this point between the males and females was how much more colorful the males were. This gal is pretty but has simple coloration.

Male #2:

Again, the wing appears smaller... But look at how cute and FLUFFY he is!

Same guy at 4 weeks:

This guy was a bit trickier to sex, and I was not sure yet what sex he was at this point.
But his comb was a little bigger and redder than the girls.

One more female:

Look at her! It sure was a surprise what color she would turn out to be.

Same chick as above at 4 weeks:

She was very bright, but is this makes any sense, she had less dramatic color variation that the first male I showed.


Anyway, I hope this helps, even though it is definitely not a science, I hope these tricks help you guess what sex your young chick is. And some chicks are just hard to sex, so don't give up on them till they crow or lay. I once had a pullet who I was convinced was a male and almost gave away but she turned out to be a girl and had one of the funniest and sweetest personalities. Good luck!

As a quick side note, I don't have any of these EEs any more, but in 1 or 2 days I will be getting 3 EEs, 3 BO, and 5 True Ameracaunas! I'm so excited! I will definitely post some pics!

 

[Norah22]

Ok I just picked up my chicks from the post office! I Was supposed to get 11 chicks, but I got 2 extra, one of them is a blue Ameraucana, and one is a mystery’s bird. Can’t say I’m complaining tho... Pics coming soon!

 

[Iluveggers]

My 3 Americanas (top, from a local hatchery) and 3 Eggers (bottom, from TSC so who knows!) Will post & continue until gender is obvious. Guesses are welcome! They were all sexed as pullets. The top 3 are about 2 weeks old, the bottom 3 just a week (& pardon the bottom names they were chosen by my little cousins ) lol.
Thelma:

2 weeks:

Louise:

2 weeks:

Clover:

2 weeks:

Junior:

Alex:

Rainbow:

Thanks! We’ve decided we are ok keeping 1 roo....but I really like colorful eggs so if we have one I hope it’s not one of these!

 

[bruceha2000]

One more female:

That one is interesting. I would have guessed cockerel based on the really patchy feather coloring at 4 weeks.

but in 1 or 2 days I will be getting 3 EEs, 3 BO, and 5 True Ameracaunas!

Where are you getting the Ameraucanas?

 

[Norah22]

Cackle... But they came today and all of them are very healthy and happy! With two extras!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

My 3 Americanas (top, from a local hatchery) and 3 Eggers (bottom, from TSC so who knows!) Will post & continue until gender is obvious. Guesses are welcome! They were all sexed as pullets. The top 3 are about 2 weeks old, the bottom 3 just a week (& pardon the bottom names they were chosen by my little cousins ) lol.
Thelma:
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2 weeks:
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Louise:
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2 weeks:
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Clover:
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2 weeks:
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Junior:
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Alex:
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Rainbow:
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View attachment 2785526Thanks! We’ve decided we are ok keeping 1 roo....but I really like colorful eggs so if we have one I hope it’s not one of these!

They are super cute! I am especially interested in seeing how the combs develop. So far they all look like typical pullet combs, except for Louise's... because I can't see it.
Looking forward to your updates. Please keep showing the combs.

 

[Iluveggers]

Cackle... But they came today and all of them are very healthy and happy! With two extras!

Post pics!

 

[Iluveggers]

They are super cute! I am especially interested in seeing how the combs develop. So far they all look like typical pullet combs, except for Louise's... because I can't see it.
Looking forward to your updates. Please keep showing the combs.

I snuck a pic of Louise tonight as the girls were drifting to sleep. Luckily the flash didn’t seem to annoy them too much. Let me know if you need a better pic tomorrow. Worst case Thelma & Louise will be Thelma & Louie

 

[Wishing4Wings]

I snuck a pic of Louise tonight as the girls were drifting to sleep. Luckily the flash didn’t seem to annoy them too much. Let me know if you need a better pic tomorrow. Worst case Thelma & Louise will be Thelma & Louie

So cute!
Females tend to have a very narrow low ridge down the center of the comb. Males will develop a wider, lumpier ridge, sometimes as early as 2 weeks.
It's easier to see in person than in photos. It's only for the pea combed types.