Sunfeathers
Hatching
Hello everyone! I am brand new to chickens, and decided early on I wanted to keep Black Copper Marans (for the pretty, delicious-looking eggs). Unable to find any local breeders, I went ahead and ordered 2 sets of eggs from Bluewater Ranch, and lo, I am now the proud owner of 13 adorable chicks! I am aiming for a flock of at least 6 hens, and perhaps 1 rooster if I can have him decrowed (I live in the city). In my greed for eggs, I would probably keep 2 more hens if I got them, and rehome the extra roos. I'm so excited to be raising my very first flock!
A Chicken Person(tm) feather sexed the first batch of chicks, and, using her sage advice and demonstration, I attempted to feather sex the second set. I am posting photos so that (hopefully) I can document their development and see whether we were correct in our assessments. I am sure some of these names are going to change in the future. I hope these photos can help some other chicken newbie sex their chicks sometime in the future, I know I will be referring to other series just like this one as I continue to try to Guess The Sex! All experienced, inexperienced, and off-the-wall guesses are appreciated, right now the first set of chicks is about 1.5 weeks and the second set is only a few days old, so it's all in good fun at this point.
This is Faith! She's the calmest chick so far. She was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as female.
This is Ganon. Ironically (for those of you who've guessed my naming scheme), Ganon has been calmer than Link. He was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as male.
This is Jade; the second largest chick and a bit feisty. She was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as female.
This is Lara, by far the feistiest chick. She was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as female.
This is Link, he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder compared to Ganon. He was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as male.
This is Peach, the runt. She had a run-in with what I suspect was coccidiosis, but after Corid and lots of forced feeding of mush when she was skin and bones, she seems to have made a full recovery. She was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as female.
This is Zelda, so far the biggest, baddest chickie in the brooder. She was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as female.
Now on to the baby chickies, only a few days old! This is Cammy. She was "feather sexed" as female by myself, the newbie.
This is Celes, "feather sexed" by me as female.
This is Daisy, "feather sexed" by me as female.
This is Malon, "feather sexed" by me as male. But I still gave him a girl's name because a girl can dream, right? I haven't settled on a proper boy name for him yet.
This is Quistis, also "feather sexed" by me as male. I don't think he minds the feminine name at all, but if he really is a he I think I'll call him Squall.
Lastly, this is Tetra, "feather sexed" by me as female!
So there you have it. If we were both correct, I am holding on to 9 pullets and only 4 roos, which is statistically pretty unlikely but hey, perhaps the Chicken Gods have smiled on me. I am just along for the ride right now! Lastly, a bonus picture--since none of the chicks particularly liked their couple moments in the chickie photo booth I improvised, everyone got spoiled afterwards with most of an egg. They FLIPPED OUT and spent a lot more time chasing one another around the brooder whenever anyone got a piece of egg, instead of just getting their own piece out of the "trough". Chickens are ridiculous. I think they're great already.
A Chicken Person(tm) feather sexed the first batch of chicks, and, using her sage advice and demonstration, I attempted to feather sex the second set. I am posting photos so that (hopefully) I can document their development and see whether we were correct in our assessments. I am sure some of these names are going to change in the future. I hope these photos can help some other chicken newbie sex their chicks sometime in the future, I know I will be referring to other series just like this one as I continue to try to Guess The Sex! All experienced, inexperienced, and off-the-wall guesses are appreciated, right now the first set of chicks is about 1.5 weeks and the second set is only a few days old, so it's all in good fun at this point.
This is Faith! She's the calmest chick so far. She was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as female.
This is Ganon. Ironically (for those of you who've guessed my naming scheme), Ganon has been calmer than Link. He was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as male.
This is Jade; the second largest chick and a bit feisty. She was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as female.
This is Lara, by far the feistiest chick. She was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as female.
This is Link, he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder compared to Ganon. He was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as male.
This is Peach, the runt. She had a run-in with what I suspect was coccidiosis, but after Corid and lots of forced feeding of mush when she was skin and bones, she seems to have made a full recovery. She was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as female.
This is Zelda, so far the biggest, baddest chickie in the brooder. She was feather sexed by the Chicken Person as female.
Now on to the baby chickies, only a few days old! This is Cammy. She was "feather sexed" as female by myself, the newbie.
This is Celes, "feather sexed" by me as female.
This is Daisy, "feather sexed" by me as female.
This is Malon, "feather sexed" by me as male. But I still gave him a girl's name because a girl can dream, right? I haven't settled on a proper boy name for him yet.
This is Quistis, also "feather sexed" by me as male. I don't think he minds the feminine name at all, but if he really is a he I think I'll call him Squall.
Lastly, this is Tetra, "feather sexed" by me as female!
So there you have it. If we were both correct, I am holding on to 9 pullets and only 4 roos, which is statistically pretty unlikely but hey, perhaps the Chicken Gods have smiled on me. I am just along for the ride right now! Lastly, a bonus picture--since none of the chicks particularly liked their couple moments in the chickie photo booth I improvised, everyone got spoiled afterwards with most of an egg. They FLIPPED OUT and spent a lot more time chasing one another around the brooder whenever anyone got a piece of egg, instead of just getting their own piece out of the "trough". Chickens are ridiculous. I think they're great already.
Last edited:
