Is it still too early to tell gender?

[melodie_a]

My Dark Brahmas are 4 weeks old now. Is it still too early to tell if they are boys or girls?


The darkest one, Coco Is it a roo because it is so much darker than the other two?

Cleopatra... or Cleopatrick?

This one is a bit smaller than the other two. It is the most adventurous, flys out of the brooder first and the one that steals the most treats. I really hope this one is a girl. I didn't get a really good pic of it because it wouldn't stay still.

 

[Sjisty]

My 2 cent's worth -

I think Coco is a little cockerel. He doesn't have the lacing that the girls have. A good overhead picture looking straight down might help, too. I also think the other two are girls because they have the lacing on their wings. Another couple of weeks and you should be able to tell for sure.

 

[nyseman]

IMO, I'm thinking all three are pullets. Their combs are almost no-existent . My BCM chicks are 4 weeks today. This is my 3rd hatch and you can really tell the boys from the girls just by their combs.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

I have two chicks that look just like the last 2 birds!

 

[melodie_a]

Thanks for the opinions. I am not sure if it matters but it seems like all three of these are feathering out at pretty much the same rate. I did take a pic from above of Coco

I have a feeling that no matter what the three of these little guys turn out to be they are going to be staying here. They are just so very very sweet. I am trying not to have favorites but my SLW and BLRW don't have anywhere near the personality that these little ones do. It probably doesn't help that I am pretty sure that all the SLW are roos! One of them is a mean little booger and fights like the dickens when you pick him up!

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

They all look like girls to me. My two wk. old males have combs twice as big and they are bright pink with yellow points.

 

[Sjisty]

This is my dark brahma, Glory, at about 12 weeks in the first picture and about 8 weeks in the second one. Notice he doesn't have the lacing that dark Brahma hens have. I still think Coco is a boy. Are those white feathers peaking out on his back, or the glare of the camera flash?

Brahmas are very slow-growing chickens, so the combs and wattles can take quite a while to develop.

 

[melodie_a]

There are some white feathers on the wings... the bottom ones are white but they are mostly dark. There is a pattern on them which is what is confusing me I think. It is just a very dark pattern. Did yours have a pattern to its wings? This is almost a very dark rusty color pattern. I keep wondering if maybe there is somethig else going on in the mix with this one. There shouldn't be, they came from a breeder who had a very nice setup to keep the birds seperate in large breeder pens. I guess anything is possible though. This chicks legs are pretty dark, are dark brahmas legs usually dark? The ones I have seen have all been yellowish, the other two have yellowy legs. This one also has less feathers on its middle toe... there are a few but not as many.

I love that second pic of Glory. He is so cute!

 

[Sjisty]

If you look closely at the first picture of Glory, you can see the rust colored feathers around the white on his wings. Now that he is a little older, it is almost gone. Just like you, I know he is not a mix, but he is my first dark Brahma roo - every other one I have hatched has been a girl.

 

[melodie_a]

I can see it now that you mentioned it. I am ok with him being a roo, we are out in the country so crowing won't bother anyone.... I'll just have to set up a breeding pen for him because I don't want to have fertilized eggs to eat.

Thank you so much for your help, I appreciate your input!