I assume Saffron is a he?

[ella2025]

I sure wish I could remember who helped me with my EE comb questions.

My 4 Blue Orpingtons I got yesterday are supposed to be 3 females and 1 male. But the male isn't banded, so I've got no clue who is who, lol. I figure I'll sort it out as they grow. But I've also read Orpingtons mature slower than others, so I'm thinking it might be a bit still.

Good luck! In my super limited experence, orpingtons don't mature that much slower. I hope you get your 3 pullets!

 

[ChickenChick46]

Good luck! In my super limited experence, orpingtons don't mature that much slower. I hope you get your 3 pullets!

That's good to know, thank you! I've read you can look at wing feathers and make a good guess about their sex between 1 and 3 days old. I'm not sure how much truth there is to that. I did look gently at their wings, and there are 3 that look very different from the 4th. So maybe that 4th one that looks different is my male. I'm not putting much faith into it, between my uncertainty of it even works and my absolute newness to chickens.

 

[ella2025]

That's good to know, thank you! I've read you can look at wing feathers and make a good guess about their sex between 1 and 3 days old. I'm not sure how much truth there is to that. I did look gently at their wings, and there are 3 that look very different from the 4th. So maybe that 4th one that looks different is my male. I'm not putting much faith into it, between my uncertainty of it even works and my absolute newness to chickens.

Maybe band or mark the 4th chick and see if that one is really the Cockerel. Ive tried using this method and it never worked, and especially with orpingtons that are a little slower feathering, not reliable at all.

 

[ChickenChick46]

Maybe band or mark the 4th chick and see if that one is really the Cockerel. Ive tried using this method and it never worked, and especially with orpingtons that are a little slower feathering, not reliable at all.

Yeah I tried the tail feather option with my first batch. It was not correct. Lol. I'm not expecting much more out if this method. Really as long as only one is a male, I'm good, ha!

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

All pea combs have three rows no matter the gender It’s much too young to be sure with your little ones, generally 6-8 weeks is when it becomes obvious.

 

[NatJ]

I've read you can look at wing feathers and make a good guess about their sex between 1 and 3 days old. I'm not sure how much truth there is to that.

For some chicks it is very reliable. For most chicks it does not work at all.

There are genes on the chicken Z sex chromosome that affect how quickly the feathers grow. So you can tell by looking at wings when they are a few days old which ones have slow feathering and which ones have fast feathering. When they get a bit older you can tell by looking at the whole chick, because the different feathering speeds are really obvious at certain ages.

If you or the hatchery sets up the right mating groups, you get feather-sexable chicks: male chicks will have slow feathering and female chicks will have fast feathering.

But almost all pure breeds, and even most hybrids and mixed breeds, cannot be sexed by looking at the wing feathers. Most possible male/female pairings of chickens will not have the correct set of feathering genes to produce that kind of sexlink chick.

 

[ChickenChick46]

For some chicks it is very reliable. For most chicks it does not work at all.

There are genes on the chicken Z sex chromosome that affect how quickly the feathers grow. So you can tell by looking at wings when they are a few days old which ones have slow feathering and which ones have fast feathering. When they get a bit older you can tell by looking at the whole chick, because the different feathering speeds are really obvious at certain ages.

If you or the hatchery sets up the right mating groups, you get feather-sexable chicks: male chicks will have slow feathering and female chicks will have fast feathering.

But almost all pure breeds, and even most hybrids and mixed breeds, cannot be sexed by looking at the wing feathers. Most possible male/female pairings of chickens will not have the correct set of feathering genes to produce that kind of sexlink chick.

Thank you so much for sharing this. It makes perfect sense! I know the methods I used before of guessing by tail feathers was totally wrong. Fortunately, in my case, the guessing is really just for fun, as I'm allowed to keep roosters where I am.

Given that I've found all the information on those type methods of supposed feather sexing on private blogs, I figured it was more anecdotal, or they have gotten lucky with their guessing. Not so much actual genetics or science. I've had the best luck waiting on combs to give me a clue at the 5/6 week mark. Earlier with my d'Uccles, who seem to pop combs by 2 weeks if they're cockerels.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you so much for sharing this. It makes perfect sense! I know the methods I used before of guessing by tail feathers was totally wrong. Fortunately, in my case, the guessing is really just for fun, as I'm allowed to keep roosters where I am.

Given that I've found all the information on those type methods of supposed feather sexing on private blogs, I figured it was more anecdotal, or they have gotten lucky with their guessing. Not so much actual genetics or science. I've had the best luck waiting on combs to give me a clue at the 5/6 week mark. Earlier with my d'Uccles, who seem to pop combs by 2 weeks if they're cockerels.

Feather-sexable chicks are based on the same science as any of the other sexlinks (red/white or black/barred or a few other versions.)

In each case, you need a trait on the Z sex chromosome.
For the breeding flock, the rooster needs to show the recessive trait, and the hens need to show the dominant trait.
That flock will produce chicks where sons show the dominant trait (like their mothers) and daughters show the recessive trait (like their father). Those sexlink chicks are the ones where feather sexing or color sexing are accurate.

 

[ChickenChick46]

Feather-sexable chicks are based on the same science as any of the other sexlinks (red/white or black/barred or a few other versions.)

In each case, you need a trait on the Z sex chromosome.
For the breeding flock, the rooster needs to show the recessive trait, and the hens need to show the dominant trait.
That flock will produce chicks where sons show the dominant trait (like their mothers) and daughters show the recessive trait (like their father). Those sexlink chicks are the ones where feather sexing or color sexing are accurate.

So mine are, and will continue to be, blue orpingtons. So I'm guessing in my flock, my chicks will always be a toss-up until they're older.

My bantam flock are cochins and d'Uccles mainly, so the same scenario.

 

[NatJ]

So mine are, and will continue to be, blue orpingtons. So I'm guessing in my flock, my chicks will always be a toss-up until they're older.

My bantam flock are cochins and d'Uccles mainly, so the same scenario.

In that case, I would not expect any feather-sexable or color-sexable chicks in your flock.

So yes, you are going to need to raise them until they are old enough to tell by combs or other means.