Gender Identification Assistance? EEs *ALL SET NOW!*

[donrae]

As far as the buyer beware, remember all you have is his word he didn't know the genders. I'm constantly amazed how folks lie right to a newbies face..."I don't know if they're boys or girls" when it's flat out obvious to any semi-experienced eye they're mostly males. Upsets me that chicken folks in general get a bad rap from unethical sellers.

 

[MaineiacJay]

youre sure 3 is a pullet? it seems to have some some thinner wispy feathers in the tail like i would expect in a young rooster? id get some better photos but its pouring rain.

donrae, youre probably right there and ive been thinking such, but i suppose its just something ill have to get through until ive had more experience with chickens and can say for myself what they are before i buy! oh well, learn from experiences right? im working on rehoming 4 of the boys. keeping the big guy and the orange one (my fiance likes them =P)

thanks to you all!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I would give #3 the benefit of the doubt if you can. Although there are some red feathers in those wings, it's an awfully female feather pattern. Do you have a close up of its head?

 

[MaineiacJay]

here is another picture of the face. its a really tricky one, because the legs are thick, the comb is looking a bit red, but its really small. and this chicken is also one of the only ones that doesnt hold his tail up high and its smaller than the others. so im really not sure. ill probably hold onto it until i know for sure.

we are looking for some hens now. there is a farm in Stowe VT that says they have bantam araucana, but im a little wary as i know that is a rarer breed here in the US. its harken back farms. anyone know of it? dont want to get fooled again.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

here is another picture of the face. its a really tricky one, because the legs are thick, the comb is looking a bit red, but its really small. and this chicken is also one of the only ones that doesnt hold his tail up high and its smaller than the others. so im really not sure. ill probably hold onto it until i know for sure.

we are looking for some hens now. there is a farm in Stowe VT that says they have bantam araucana, but im a little wary as i know that is a rarer breed here in the US. its harken back farms. anyone know of it? dont want to get fooled again.

Based on that comb and what you say about leg size, I would say that this is also a cockerel. Sometimes when there are a bunch of males in a group, a subordinate will not develop secondary sex characteristics as quickly. To confirm this, however, I would highly recommend you post this photo on the thread "Easter Egging Sexing--tips and tricks." The people there are VERY good at sexing EEs.

As for your bantam Araucana, I would do your homework. Check out http://www.araucana.net/ to see the standard of perfection and see what these birds should look like. Look at photos of pure Araucanas and familiarize yourself with the accepted colors. Look at photos of the birds at different ages to see the differences between cockerels and pullets of the different color variations. Sometimes it's really easy because the cockerel of a wheaten bird (for example) is a completely different color from the pullet.
wheaten roosters: http://bit.ly/19v6w8b
wheaten hens: http://bit.ly/18C5k3f
(the birds in the links are all wheaten birds, but not Araucanas)
Google Image Search is your friend!

 

[MaineiacJay]

ill post the photo in the forum you told me.

as for the araucana, i have already looked at that site for the standard. i got hold of her this morning and requested photos. she said she will get them to me tonight. i assume they are not up to standard because they have tails. but i did read that araucana can be born with tails. she specifically mentioned they have tails which is probably why they are the only 3 she has left, and from 2011 and 12. 2 blacks and one black breasted red, which are to standard as far as color goes. to be perfectly honest though, i dont really care if they are to standard or not, i am not planning on breeding purebred araucana, especially with the challenges and fatal genes. but i may hatch out some more easter eggers with the EE roosters. i just like colored eggs =P

BUT assuming they are purebred araucana hen, but with tails, what would they be worth? rather, what should i pay for them?

thank you guys so much, im seriously a noob at chickens, but im learning from all of your replies!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

ill post the photo in the forum you told me.

as for the araucana, i have already looked at that site for the standard. i got hold of her this morning and requested photos. she said she will get them to me tonight. i assume they are not up to standard because they have tails. but i did read that araucana can be born with tails. she specifically mentioned they have tails which is probably why they are the only 3 she has left, and from 2011 and 12. 2 blacks and one black breasted red, which are to standard as far as color goes. to be perfectly honest though, i dont really care if they are to standard or not, i am not planning on breeding purebred araucana, especially with the challenges and fatal genes. but i may hatch out some more easter eggers with the EE roosters. i just like colored eggs =P

BUT assuming they are purebred araucana hen, but with tails, what would they be worth? rather, what should i pay for them?

thank you guys so much, im seriously a noob at chickens, but im learning from all of your replies!

You're right, Araucana can have tails. And they will make lovely blue and/or green egg layers when crossed with your EE roo.

As far as cost, I'm going to send you to another thread again. These are the Araucana people, and can answer your questions far better than I can, since I've never had one: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/288425/araucana-thread-anyone

Good luck! And don't worry about being a noob. Give it six months, and you'll be dispensing advice like a pro.

 

[Whittni]

#5 is a rooster.

 

[MaineiacJay]

thanks Whittni. we covered the rest number 5 i was already positive about being a rooster =P hes a beast of a chicken! lol just questioning the black and white one now

and thank WalkingOnSunshine, thats encouraging! ill visit that forum too =D

 

[Whittni]

oh ^_^