Feather Sexing - advice please

[JmzMc]

So I know feather sexing isn't reliable all breeds.

I have four hybrids and one has hardly any wings feathers and one has big big wing feathers.

Is there anyway for me to tell which is male or female or do I need to wait?

Why is one growing faster than the other three.

 

[SilverBirds]

All chicks develop at different rates. Are these your hybirds or hatchery hybrids?

 

[JmzMc]

All chicks develop at different rates. Are these your hybirds or hatchery hybrids?

I bought eggs from a farm and they were just free range with a rooster in the mix. So I have no idea. I just know I'm gonna have to get rid of roosters but I'm worried the lack of feathers means they are males

 

[Muser]

I picked up a few chicks from my Uncle who has free ranging mixed birds (also known as Barn Yard Mix). Take it from me, they will all feather out at different rates, My fastest tail and wing feather developers were Male and my slowest were also Male. Try not to torture yourself with wondering if they are Male or Female (but I know that's impossible). Best tried and true method of knowing is wait until they are 8 weeks old and look for Large Combs and Wattles. If that's still not clear, best to wait for 12-16 weeks where the males show shiny saddle and hackle feathers across their backs and necks. If it still isn't obvious, wait a few more weeks and hope for an egg

 

[nuthatched]

Wait for comb and waddle development

 

[JmzMc]

I picked up a few chicks from my Uncle who has free ranging mixed birds (also known as Barn Yard Mix). Take it from me, they will all feather out at different rates, My fastest tail and wing feather developers were Male and my slowest were also Male. Try not to torture yourself with wondering if they are Male or Female (but I know that's impossible). Best tried and true method of knowing is wait until they are 8 weeks old and look for Large Combs and Wattles. If that's still not clear, best to wait for 12-16 weeks where the males show shiny saddle and hackle feathers across their backs and necks. If it still isn't obvious, wait a few more weeks and hope for an egg

Yeah its just a shame as I'm getting attached to them all lol .... knew this would happen lol

 

[Muser]

Yeah its just a shame as I'm getting attached to them all lol .... knew this would happen lol

I understand this completely. But, enjoy them whilst you have them. If one's your favorite, let them be until they can't be any longer <3 I understand what you are going through, I'm tormenting myself with a mixed-breed Spitzhauban cross at the moment, of course, out of all of the chicks it's my favorite, most friendly, clever little thing and it's the most confusing one to sex. All the others I'm clear on now, just this little one confuses me!

 

[JmzMc]

I understand this completely. But, enjoy them whilst you have them. If one's your favorite, let them be until they can't be any longer <3 I understand what you are going through, I'm tormenting myself with a mixed-breed Spitzhauban cross at the moment, of course, out of all of the chicks it's my favorite, most friendly, clever little thing and it's the most confusing one to sex. All the others I'm clear on now, just this little one confuses me!

As we speak they are sleeping under my arm lol

 

[Ridgerunner]

The first post in this thread explains how sex-linking works and gives examples of red sex links, black sex links, and feather sexing.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sex-linked-information.261208/

To be able to feather sex a chick you need for the father to have two copies of the recessive fast-feathering gene and the hen to have the dominant slow-feathering gene. If you don't know they have that set-up then you cannot feather sex them.

Why is one growing faster than the other three.

Are you talking about feathers or physical size? If you are talking about feathers that is purely controlled by genetics.

Physical size gets more complex. Eggs come in different sizes. Bigger eggs mean the chicks that hatch out of them will be bigger than chicks out of smaller eggs. Genetics has some control over how fast they grow. We'll assume they all have the same diet, but some may eat more than other chicks so they can grow faster. Males tend to grow to be larger than females but don't rely too much on that. That growth may come later in life.

Is there anyway for me to tell which is male or female or do I need to wait?

Specially trained people can guess sex really well by looking inside the vent. Trained and experienced people can hit 90% accuracy or better. DNA testing can tell you sex. But for the majority of us it is a matter of waiting.

When they are five to six weeks old post photos on here and we can maybe tell the sex. I like a close-up of the head showing the comb and wattles. Males typically have darker red combs and wattles than females plus if a chick has noticeable wattles at that age it is probably a boy. I also like a photo showing the body. Thick legs is a sign that it might be a boy. A boy is more likely to have an upright posture and can have a different body conformation that a girl. Sometimes these signs are really obvious at this age, sometimes not.

Some are harder to sex than others. If I'm looking at them in person I can often tell sex by five weeks, but I had one I thought was a girl until he was about 16 weeks old. Sometimes those sexual traits are very slow to develop.