help a rookie out!!

[aidensmomma]

I have 12 chicks; 3 RIR, 1 Americauna (sp?) 4 black ones...don't know what breed and 4 salt and pepper looking ones that the feed store said were Sexlinks; well, actually they said the 4 black ones were Sexlinks as well but they look different...2 of the sexlinks have pronounced combs (which developed at about 6-8 weeks old) and those red dangly things while the other 10 do not. I assumed...key word assumed...that these two were roosters. They are the only 2 who chest bump each other and are more aggressive then the rest so it made sense to me that they were male. Then someone told me that all Sexlinks were female...and that just because their combs grew out doesn't mean they are roosters. I realize from the way this is written that it might look like I have no business owning chickens not knowing what gender they are...however, I have 12 spoiled chickens. I know how to feed and take care of them, I just don't know if they are boys or girls!!! Any advice on how to figure this out? If I took pictures and posted them would someone be able to tell?

 

[fshinggrl]

Sexlinks are boys and girls, they just look different at birth and feather out differently if *I* understand it correctly. For example, a red sexlink pullet is going to be read with some white feathers while a red sexlink roo will be white with some red hightlights.

Pictures are very helpful. There can be agressive females who chest bump as well, so that is not necessarily a good indicator of a roo, but it can be.

 

[debid]

I have pullets (that I'm POSITIVE are female) that flare their neck feathers and chest bump the cockerel when he's trying to advance in the pecking order. This sort of behavior is not evidence of gender at their age.

If your sexlinks have lineage that includes something like a leghorn, they can have big combs and wattles at an early age -- even if they're female. However, feed stores are also notorious for mislabeling chicks so you might have chicks that are not sexlinks and are roos. Pictures would definitely help.

 

[aidensmomma]

is there a link on this site that shows me how to upload pictures? i have pics, just don't know how to put them in a reply...i would love to hear opinions on them!

 

[TwoCrows]

Go to the top blue bar where it says "uploads". Click on that. Then "browse" thu your pics, pick one out and then press the submit button. After that "copy" the lower "img" address and paste to your post.

 

[aidensmomma]

I don't know what breed this is...

And here is one of each breed I have...I will take some pics of the ones I think are roosters tomorrow. The two that I think are roosters are also much larger then the others who are the same age... but again, not sure if that matters!

 

[riverscape1]

Ok, I'm a newbie to this chicknmomma thing too, but this is the way I understand it. Feathersite has a pretty good explanation and alot of pictures posted. The black sex links are called sex links because their sex can be determined at hatching since their color genes are linked to their sex. That is boys have different coloring than girls. They do come in both sexes. For blacks, the males are the ones with the white markings or "dots" on their heads. The female chicks are all black on their heads. I have a female black sex link and she was all black when she hatched. She's getting some red breast markings like the one in your first picture.

How old are your BSL chicks? Mine is six weeks and she looks so much more mature than yours. Her comb is very developed and she has such thick legs that I would think she's a roo, but I know what she looked like at birth.

Donna

 

[aidensmomma]

Mine are now between 12 and 14 weeks. Those pictures are a few weeks old. As soon as my human babies take a nap I'm going to upload some more pics of my chicken babies. Thanks for the explanation on the sexlinks, I'll have to check out Feathersite and see if it helps!

 

[debid]

Your first photo looks like a black sexlink. In the second photo, I see three Barred Rocks (the black and white striped ones), one Easter Egger, a black sexlink, a Black Australorp or Jersey Giant (probably Australorp), and a RIR.

I suspect that they had a bin of "black pullets" that they were calling "sexlinks" when, in fact, it was a mixture of black layer breeds. There are a number of breeds that look a whole lot alike as chicks but not so much as adults. If you post pics with face closeups and a profile shot of your suspects, I'm sure people can advise on whether they are cockerels. A black pullet bin should not contain cockerels but mistakes do happen.

 

[pdsavage]

That don't look like an EE it looks more like a Sicilian Buttercups

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGA/BCup/BRKButtercup.html

or could be Campine har to tell from the photo.