Girls or boys?

[Emak2323]

I recently got 7 Easter eggers, a buff orp, and a black ostralorp. I’m starting to think a couple of the EE shes are actually hes. The first 2 pics are the same chick (zorro), and the 3rd is Beyoncé and mink. Girls or boys?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Zorro is a cockerel....the other two look like pullets with what can be seen but pic is not really gender assessment materiel

 

[Frazzemrat1]

Agreed, Zorro is a cockerel. The other two appear to be pullets, but they are young. Better, full bodied pics when they're a few weeks older will help.

 

[Emak2323]

Zorro is a cockerel....the other two look like pullets with what can be seen but pic is not really gender assessment materiel

Do these help?

 

[Acre4Me]

Agree Zorro is aptly named male.

The other two may very well be girls. Usually pics around 8 weeks are much better for gender clues. Full pic from side view of the chick standing is helpful. Also, clear pics of comb and wattles.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@Ol Grey Mare - I've seen a lot of threads on these kinds of questions, and the ability of yourself and others to sex such young chicks is amazing to me. Could you please tell me what you are looking for when you request photos, what you are looking at that is the "gender reveal?" Do you want profile pics of the head, or top-down? Is it better to have side or front pics of the whole chick, (or both?) and should it be standing level with the camera? Can I shoot from above? Can I have somebody hold it? Do you need to see the feet or legs? Does the tail or wings tell you anything? Thanks. I just saw somebody tell the OP these are not good pics and I wondered what exactly is needed. Thanks.

 

[cstephens1987]

@Ol Grey Mare - I've seen a lot of threads on these kinds of questions, and the ability of yourself and others to sex such young chicks is amazing to me. Could you please tell me what you are looking for when you request photos, what you are looking at that is the "gender reveal?" Do you want profile pics of the head, or top-down? Is it better to have side or front pics of the whole chick, (or both?) and should it be standing level with the camera? Can I shoot from above? Can I have somebody hold it? Do you need to see the feet or legs? Does the tail or wings tell you anything? Thanks. I just saw somebody tell the OP these are not good pics and I wondered what exactly is needed. Thanks.

Well some of it depends upon the age of the chick in question as certain sex traits don't appear until the birds have matured more. In this case Zorro's bright red well developed comb is a dead giveaway that's he's a he. In contrast the other two have very small combs with hardly any coloring to them. For younger chicks 4-8 weeks of age, the comb is one of the easiest ways to see sex. For many EE the coloring is also sex specific or can help to reinforce assumptions made based on other factors. Males will generally be larger, especially in the legs and will tend to have a more upright posture. With EE in particular sexing can often times be difficult as they are a mutt by definition and may have very different traits and genetics based on how they were bred. Most EE are derived somewhat closely from Ameraucana so there are some common patterns among them, but not always. Good pictures for sexing generally include a clear face on picture with comb in natural lighting (not the red of a brooder which distorts what we're looking for), a side profile for looking at posture, size, leg to body ratio, sex specific feathering if they're old enough, etc. wings and early hackles can be tricky to use for sexing on EE based again on their mutt genetics and wild patterning. Oh I should also mention wattles are used the same as combs but on most EE they are very subdued in size and often harder to use for sexing than a comb.

 

[Emak2323]

Well some of it depends upon the age of the chick in question as certain sex traits don't appear until the birds have matured more. In this case Zorro's bright red well developed comb is a dead giveaway that's he's a he. In contrast the other two have very small combs with hardly any coloring to them. For younger chicks 4-8 weeks of age, the comb is one of the easiest ways to see sex. For many EE the coloring is also sex specific or can help to reinforce assumptions made based on other factors. Males will generally be larger, especially in the legs and will tend to have a more upright posture. With EE in particular sexing can often times be difficult as they are a mutt by definition and may have very different traits and genetics based on how they were bred. Most EE are derived somewhat closely from Ameraucana so there are some common patterns among them, but not always. Good pictures for sexing generally include a clear face on picture with comb in natural lighting (not the red of a brooder which distorts what we're looking for), a side profile for looking at posture, size, leg to body ratio, sex specific feathering if they're old enough, etc. wings and early hackles can be tricky to use for sexing on EE based again on their mutt genetics and wild patterning. Oh I should also mention wattles are used the same as combs but on most EE they are very subdued in size and often harder to use for sexing than a comb.

Thank you!! That's helpful to know!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Do these help?

Yes, they do....pullets

 

[Emak2323]

Yes, they do....pullets

Thank you!!