Guess Chicks Gender and Breed (Just For Fun)

[Pigeony]

Thank you! I know I'm partial to them .

I'm certain #4 is a cockerel and #3 is a pullet, and like 50/50 on #5 being a cockerel.

#4, has been crowing up a storm since he learned how the other day, so I can't deny that one any longer. So he's officially been name changed to "a boy named sue rose". LOL.

#3, "George"/"Georgia" has one of the lighter colored and smaller combs now, and other than some pointier tail feathers than the other girls, they have all stayed really straight. Her neck feathers are also rounder than they kinda look, just cause the white/black constrast kinda gives an optial illusion to hide the real edges.

#5, I flip flop on every other glance at him/her . The red shoulders, the large legs/feet, and a single feathers that ALMOST curls, kinda makes me lean more towards cockerel. Though, the comb litterally stopped growing, and it's just not getting much wider or redder. It's probably more in the midrange of "pink" in comparison to even the other hens. It's also only a single row, where #4 is def starting to get some of the sides coming in. (all the other girls only have 1 row). The last thing is just that the saddle feathers seem to be coming in much more rounded than #4.

Though, told my mom, we will know once #5 starts to crow or lay eggs And we don't have to really figure it out until they start fighting and/or mating. I've planned on keeping only 1 rooster, but she's kinda partial to all of them, so I told her if fate smiles on us, and they seem to fit well enough we won't mess with it too much. Though, I don't want an aggressive rooster, and I don't want them fighting/mating to stress out the hens.

#5 is 100% male, that rust red is growing in the pattern of male-specific EE feathering.

 

[ColoradoChicken89]

#5 is 100% male, that rust red is growing in the pattern of male-specific EE feathering.

yeah, tbh that is what made me assume cockerel early on, just because that started to show within the first few weeks. There are some other signs too. Though, I do have one friend who has a EE hen with rust in the male pattern, so I kinda keep up hope. Though, I know it's not very common... lol.

 

[Pigeony]

yeah, tbh that is what made me assume cockerel early on, just because that started to show within the first few weeks. There are some other signs too. Though, I do have one friend who has a EE hen with rust in the male pattern, so I kinda keep up hope. Though, I know it's not very common... lol.

Hens that have rusty red patterns in their feathers don't develop it in the same way. They have red as a component of their coloring, but it's more evenly distributed, less specifically concentrated on the back of the bird, and maybe a shade or two lighter. That deep-red, uneven, blotchy splattering specifically across the shoulders and upper wings is only found in males.

 

[ColoradoChicken89]

Hens that have rusty red patterns in their feathers don't develop it in the same way. They have red as a component of their coloring, but it's more evenly distributed, less specifically concentrated on the back of the bird, and maybe a shade or two lighter. That deep-red, uneven, blotchy splattering specifically across the shoulders and upper wings is only found in males.

TBH I 1000% agree with you, but I think Iva Jean is intersex. LOL.

I ended up getting her a cheap DNA test, and it came back as hen... so I did a 2nd one, and it came back as hen again... Though, SO much about her reads "rooster". The comb is big and really red compared to ALL the other girls, she stands like a rooster, she's even getting a rooster tail... let alone the coloring. so the results still don't have me convinced "she" is 100% pullet...

Though, the vet basically explained to me, though it's rare, some chickens are intersex, and some just defy genetic norms. But her best guess, because the DNA test I chose just tests for the "W" gene is present or not, that it can easily be a "ZZW" or have half ZZ/ZW (and a ZW was the spot tested)... She said we can do some more extensive testing if I want to pay for it, but I think I'm just going to wait to see what happens, and just do a nacrospy at the end of her life for comfirmation some other time.

For now, Rose/Iva seem to get along fine. It seems like me moving them around a few times a day keeps them more in "alert" mode than being aware of each other. Rose is def in charge though, between the two. So far none of them are attempting to mate yet, so that might end up chaning when that happens.

When/if it ends up being an issue later, I plan on culling Iva though. Just because I did want a rooster for fertalized eggs, I don't want to risk the chance that, even if Iva doesn't lay eggs AND mounts other chickens, she might just shoot blanks or have a lower fertility rate, just because of the "W" is def somewhere in there. Figured I will just have better fertalization odds with the very obvious rooster.

If they don't end up having any issues though, we figure we might as well keep her (even if she doesn't lay eggs) cause I don't really want to cull anyone if I can avoid it. And I'm just curious at this point what will happen... LOL

 

[Pigeony]

TBH I 1000% agree with you, but I think Iva Jean is intersex. LOL.

I ended up getting her a cheap DNA test, and it came back as hen... so I did a 2nd one, and it came back as hen again... Though, SO much about her reads "rooster". The comb is big and really red compared to ALL the other girls, she stands like a rooster, she's even getting a rooster tail... let alone the coloring. so the results still don't have me convinced "she" is 100% pullet...

Though, the vet basically explained to me, though it's rare, some chickens are intersex, and some just defy genetic norms. But her best guess, because the DNA test I chose just tests for the "W" gene is present or not, that it can easily be a "ZZW" or have half ZZ/ZW (and a ZW was the spot tested)... She said we can do some more extensive testing if I want to pay for it, but I think I'm just going to wait to see what happens, and just do a nacrospy at the end of her life for comfirmation some other time.

For now, Rose/Iva seem to get along fine. It seems like me moving them around a few times a day keeps them more in "alert" mode than being aware of each other. Rose is def in charge though, between the two. So far none of them are attempting to mate yet, so that might end up chaning when that happens.

When/if it ends up being an issue later, I plan on culling Iva though. Just because I did want a rooster for fertalized eggs, I don't want to risk the chance that, even if Iva doesn't lay eggs AND mounts other chickens, she might just shoot blanks or have a lower fertility rate, just because of the "W" is def somewhere in there. Figured I will just have better fertalization odds with the very obvious rooster.

If they don't end up having any issues though, we figure we might as well keep her (even if she doesn't lay eggs) cause I don't really want to cull anyone if I can avoid it. And I'm just curious at this point what will happen... LOL

Interesting, would love to see an updated picture! You have me very curious what will happen as well, you may have a rare medical anomaly on your hands.

 

[ColoradoChicken89]

Interesting, would love to see an updated picture! You have me very curious what will happen as well, you may have a rare medical anomaly on your hands.

Yeah I can get some in the evening when I put them up. Cause it's only just gotten more extreme physically. LOL. But I was waiting to see the results and talk to my vet before I posted here, cause I was just more confused... LOL.

First test, I was almost certain I grabbed the wrong feather (cause i saw one fall off and i figured I accidently grabbed the wrong one), but the 2nd test I made sure to pluck a feather (it was mostly falling out, just a little stuck) so I KNEW it was right.

But I'll probably be keeping a close eye on Iva, cause the vet did warn me that some weird complications can happen if the reproductive organs don't fully develop, or what can cause that to happen can cause issues, if she's not intersex. So I def want a necropsy at some point to know for sure. So to just look out for any signs that she might need to be euthanized.