HELP! 1 MONTH OLD Splash Ameracaunas! Pullets or roos?

[Katakornchicks]

Hey there! I just bought some splash Ameracaunas chicks! I don't know the exact age, but about 5 weeks I'd say. I'm usually pretty good about telling the gender of chickens at this age, but with this breed I have NO idea! I tried my best to pick 2 girls. What do y'all think?
(Note, the one has blood on his beak because it panicked when I put it in the new coop for the first time.)

Also! One of them is missing a toenail I noticed! What happened?? Will it grown back or is it a birth defect? It doesn't look like it hurts.

 

[HarmonyHorsey]

Hey there! I just bought some splash Ameracaunas chicks! I don't know the exact age, but about 5 weeks I'd say. I'm usually pretty good about telling the gender of chickens at this age, but with this breed I have NO idea! I tried my best to pick 2 girls. What do y'all think?
(Note, the one has blood on his beak because it panicked when I put it in the new coop for the first time.)

Also! One of them is missing a toenail I noticed! What happened?? Will it grown back or is it a birth defect? It doesn't look like it hurts.
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I heard that there is a thing where you dangle the chicks legs and if they hang its a roo and if they don't it's a pullet. It's very hard to tell as chicks...

 

[JedJackson]

So far I don't see any signs of them being males. Combs are small and pale. I don't believe the toenail will grow back, but the bird will be fine without it.

 

[NatJ]

I heard that there is a thing where you dangle the chicks legs and if they hang its a roo and if they don't it's a pullet.

That does not work reliably enough to be useful. It is one of many methods that supposedly works, but in practice is wrong about as often as it is right.

Waiting until the chick grows some more, and then looking at comb & wattle growth, is fairly accurate in most cases. Chicks that develop slowly are harder (males "look like" females for longer), and chicks that develop unusually quickly are also hard (females may "look like" males because they develop faster than expected.)

It's very hard to tell as chicks...

Yes, it definitely is.

 

[Katakornchicks]

That does not work reliably enough to be useful. It is one of many methods that supposedly works, but in practice is wrong about as often as it is right.

Waiting until the chick grows some more, and then looking at comb & wattle growth, is fairly accurate in most cases. Chicks that develop slowly are harder (males "look like" females for longer), and chicks that develop unusually quickly are also hard (females may "look like" males because they develop faster than expected.)


Yes, it definitely is.

I can usually tell at this age with EE chicks, I thought Ameracaunas would be easy too since they are related and have the same kinda comb. However, they are developing completely different than my EE chicks. And the huge beak is throwing me

 

[Tookie]

For now both look like pullets to me.

The one missing a toe nail, actually looks like more than the toe nail is missing, so it won't grow back.

 

[Katakornchicks]

For now both look like pullets to me.

The one missing a toe nail, actually looks like more than the toe nail is missing, so it won't grow back.

Thank you for your reply! As for the toenail, why won't it grow back? It's not a big deal to me or anything, but is it a birth defect or is it an injury?

 

[Tookie]

Thank you for your reply! As for the toenail, why won't it grow back?

Because it looks to me like some of the toe is missing too, not just the nail.

It's not a big deal to me or anything, but is it a birth defect or is it an injury?

I'd guess injury. Something could have gotten wrapped around the toe, or something of the sorts.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you for your reply! As for the toenail, why won't it grow back? It's not a big deal to me or anything, but is it a birth defect or is it an injury?

It could be either a birth defect or an injury. I once received a chick from a hatchery with a toe that was shorter and had no nail. It did not look injured, and the chick was so young it could not have been hurt & then healed up before I saw it, so it must have hatched with that defect.

The nail only grows from a specific part of the toe. If that part is missing, there is nothing to grow a nail. I agree with @Tookie that the nail will probably not grow back, because it looks like that part of the toe is missing. Of course I could be wrong about what I am seeing in the photo. You will know for sure in a few months' time, because either there will be a nail or there will not be one