Is my Easter Egger a boy or a girl? Hen or roo? (Pic heavy) NEW PIC'S!

[mspencer1818]

OK, so, I am freaking out trying to guess the sex of one of my flock. I am a first time mother (can you tell by the hysterical note) of three mutts, and one has me flummoxed. While Senator Beakers seems as meek and mild as the other two girls, the comb came in redder than the others, and the tail seems more upright to me. Also, while both my other two have a slight yellowish cast to their legs "his" legs are much more grey. I live very close to several houses, and don't think I can get away with a roo, even for a couple days. But, the Senator is adorable and loved, so I want to be as sure as I can before making a decision to give him away. So, any input much appreciated. The chickens are all about ten weeks old now.

I tried to get a number of pics since I wasn't sure which would be most helpful. The first is of the flock all together:

Beakers is to the far left in this picture.

Sometimes, s/he stands like this:

But, lots of times, the tail is much more upright, like this:

It is hard to tell in the pictures, but Beakers does have a red comb, although it is small, which I understand is the case with the Easter Egger.

Anyhow, any and all input will be so appreciated!

Thanks again,

Anxious in Salt Lake

 

[sred98]

I am thinking he is a roo. Looks like some saddle feathers coming in. Not 100% sure, though. How old are they?

Shelly

Also, I almost forgot!

 

[sloallie10]

do you have a clearer pic of the comb?

 

[mspencer1818]

I will get some better pictures tomorrow (I am afraid these were taken on an overcast day). Thanks for the help so far, and for the very kind welcome! The chicks are 10 weeks old, and growing up much too fast...DH inisists we not give up hope yet, so I will keep my fingers crossed until tomorrow.

Meg

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

A clearer picture of the comb would help, but my instinct is to wait. It looks more like a pullet than a roo to me. I had a masculine easter egger chick (larger, held tail differently, wider 3-row comb, more solid colored feathering), but she ended up being a very pretty hen. All 3 of my EE pullets have grey/slate colored eggs.

This is Pippin at about 7 weeks old:

These two EE chicks looked so different from each other at 7-8 weeks of age,

but now that they are laying eggs, they almost look like twins.

Edited to say: Even though they look similar, their combs are still very different - Pippin (up front) still has the larger 3-row pea comb, while Cleopatra has the single row pea comb.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

Wow, Im glad you showed those pictures. I had read on here somewhere that if they had a three row comb that it was a male, and if it had saddle feathers then it was a male also. That doesnt seem to apply to the EE's.

Dont put an EE in the butcher pen until you know for sure.

 

[mspencer1818]

Again, thanks so much for all the replies. And I must say, I found those photos awfully convincing. But, here are a few more pics that will hopefully help. I must say, the flash does really seem to wash out the color on all the chickens combs, bin at least one, you can see the red. I would say they are all equally dark red now, although Beakers (the one I am most concerned about) seemed to get red sooner then the other two.

Beakers:

Olga, another of my chickens, for comparison:

One more shot of all three (Beakers is in the front):

While Olga's comb is sort of a squiggly line without much in the way of notching, Beakers has distinct little notches (although one of my other chickens, Buttercup, seems to have the notch thing going on as well).

Anyhow, I hope this helps, and was so appreciative of all the responses. This really is the place to go for assistance! Thanks for the time, and attention. And, ArizonaDesertChicks, thanks for the (possibly) great news! All is not lost...

Meg and DH (the one who caught the birds and held them for the photos)

 

[ZepChick]

Hi! I have to try and guess since EEs are my favorite! I think I see some saddle feathers, and almost see some curvature (as in a sickle feather?) on that top tail feather. Also, Senator Beakers' head looks a little more narrow to me, which sometimes indicates roo. This is just my opinion though, I have been wrong many, many times before. I hope you have a hen, but if it is a roo he will be gorgeous

 

[MikasGirl]

Agree wtih my mom