Help with sexing laced wyandottes

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi all,

Looking for help with sexing some 20 week old gold and silver laced wyandottes. I have raised them from eggs and was hoping for all hens, but that is not the case. I’m actually a bit suss on all of them being roosters, guidance would be appreciated.

Ben

Wow, talk about bad luck!

Cockerels are often stronger and therefor MORE likely to hatch in my experience. I have gotten as much as 70% boys, but 100, that's harsh! Especially if you aren't ready to eat or let them be eaten.

Many people do find homes, so hopefully if that's important you will be able to. We do eat our extra boys but it took a VERY long time to get here. I would have no problem with letting them feed someone else's family if I couldn't emotionally eat them myself. Or pay another person to process for my eating if need be. And note that Wyandotte are quite a tasty breed.

I do keep a stag pen (only because I breed). If you can afford to, have the space, hearing tolerance for that many crowing, and don't mind feeding boys who won't provide anything other than eye candy in the pasture (maybe chicks in the future)... some can and do get along happily ever after. Though sometimes it's only happily ever until someone decides they had enough or suddenly hit a super hormonal streak. Even humans don't always peacefully coexist. It's hard to get along with someone you live with day in and day out. So your situation may be unique and have to deal accordingly. No bullies EVER stay at my place be they stag or hen!

One little peace of info... did you know that the hen actually determines the gender of the offspring. Though is isn't likely, it is possible that their hen throws all male.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

I am jealous of these!
I would love to mate them with my silver ladies!

 

[Thorn Fulford]

Did you incubate at slightly high temps, some have a theory on that , tho I personally believe that the sex is made at conception

 

[Thorn Fulford]

I also have similar questions how do you post thread?

 

[sylviethecochin]

Did you incubate at slightly high temps, some have a theory on that , tho I personally believe that the sex is made at conception

Sex is made at conception--but hens are slightly more likely to survive at a lower incubation temperature and roosters are slightly more likely to survive at a higher temperature.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

If you can afford to, have the space, hearing tolerance for that many crowing,

One little peace of info... did you know that the hen actually determines the gender of the offspring. Though is isn't likely, it is possible that their hen throws all male.

We hatched over 300 chickens last season. 30-35% males. Post season balance statistics. Out of the 100 raised to 6 mo old when chick season ended, 32 were males. We frozen some but the ones for sale, crowed from 6 am to 6 pm non stop communications.
We finally got a someone to bite our ad, he came over with a ton of poultry crates and we finally sold the balance. After he drove off, DH and I almost said at the same time.. "it's so quite around here now". It took about 3 days to stop remarking about the awkward quite.
SO BACK TO THE OP,
If you can stand the noise from the constant communications between the boys, it's practical to raise them for freezer stock.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

I also have similar questions how do you post thread?

if you click on the 'forums' button on the banner at top, then on the board you want to post in... below the banner will be a link to 'Post New Thread'

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Sex is made at conception--but hens are slightly more likely to survive at a lower incubation temperature and roosters are slightly more likely to survive at a higher temperature.

Do you have a study showing this? I would love to read it. I also wonder what stage of development the different temps create the different survival rates... Can you say "brain spinning"!

Survival rate of specified gender MAY correlate to temps. But gender in CHICKENS does NOT regardless of what SOME theorize. Otherwise the hatchieries would simply incubate at a different temp instead of paying somebody to squeeze chick butts to look for gonads.

BTW, not all those male chicks just get thrown away. They go to zoos and wildlife rehab centers to feed their carnivores. And wouldn't surprise me if that's what some of the "chicken by product" is inside animal feeds.

Yes I agree gender is determined at conception, by the hen.

Oh puhlease, 6 am! Quack.. They start around 3 am here.

Luckily it isn't an issue for me or my neighbors. It seems worse the first hour after I let them out. Then simmers down quite a bit for most of the day with just standard but not obsessive crowing. Shorty after dark all is quite for several hours.

Did you know that chickens can detect UV and see the sunrise coming 3 hours before us? Though sunrise has little to do with crowing, just sharing a fun fact.

 

[Benda99]

Oh no, worst luck ever. Thank you all for your help.

 

[Thorn Fulford]

If you have any black Australorp hens you can breed them and sell them as roselorps like I plan too ( still look just like ba but rose combed