Girls or boys?

Pork Pie

Flockwit
Premium Feather Member
9 Years
Jan 30, 2015
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Hi everyone, out of eight chicks (6 weeks old) I have 3 that i would appreciate input regarding gender. I'm thinking girls
here goes...

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Their comb development is significantly less pronounced than their brothers, hence my assumption that they are girls.

Any feedback would be much appreciated!!

Many thanks in advance

CT
 
Not all mature at the same rate. You are probably right in thinking these three are pullets, but at six week the middle picture might be a rooster. Things change quickly. My Japanese bantams are four weeks old. A week ago I thought I had just one rooster; now it looks like three of the four are roosters.
 
Thanks for the response - i agree totally with your sentiments - gender guessing is more like a sport than a science as theres always one or two that throws even the most experienced chicken owner a curve ball!

Thanks once again

CT
 
Gosh, they are all over the place. I live in Kenya and we do not have specific breeds of chickens which is a real shame. They are a mix of a commercially bred chicken (duel purpose) and a government "improved chicken" that is similarly duel purpose. I bred them myself but even being sure of the parent stock is problematic as people are not always truthful.

CT
 
What color are the hens and what color was the rooster you used? If the hens were silver (black and white), and the rooster was red or red based, then they would be red sexlinks and can be sexed by coloring.
 
The rooster was predominantly white, and the hen brown. Not sure the principles or breeds you have the in the states applies to here in Kenya. If i am correct (and thats dubious) i would say the that the hen is a breed that is bred by our largest commercial producer of chickens / meat - origins of parent stock from india so i understand. The roo i would not like to confirm its providence - as i say, people prefer to be "flexible" with the truth.
 
I think so, but here's a pic of one of the boys for comparison.

The comb development is much more pronounced compared with what i think and hope are girls.

Thanks alot

CT
 
When it comes to sexlinks, breed is not a factor. It's entirely based on color/pattern.
Think of it this way, all chickens are genetically either gold/red or silver. Black is not a color, but a pattern. Solid white and 'blue' genes affect black. Solid black and solid white birds are still genetically gold/red or silver but their pattern genes are 'hiding' the base color.
Silver is dominant over red/gold, and is also sex-linked. A silver hen can only pass her silver gene to her male chicks. Males, however, can pass their color gene to both their male and female chicks. This basic principle applies to all breeds and cross breeds.
Black sexlinks are based on the barred pattern gene. A barred hen can only pass her barring gene to her male chicks. Since it's a pattern based sexlink, it doesn't matter what color the rooster is, as long as he isn't solid white.
You rooster is silver, so his chicks can't be sexed by color.
 

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