Is this even possible????

[asherjasper]

I am new to hatching. I wanted to make sure that I hatched some females because we want to keep a couple in our garden, so I ordered some sex links to make sure i could tell the difference. The females were supposed to have red streaks and the males were supposed to be all yellow.
I ordered 12 eggs a few months ago, hatched 6 which were all boys. So, I decided to try again. Anyway, this morning our #7 boy just hatched! No girls! Is this even possible...well i know it's actually possible but what are the chances??? I'm starting to wonder whether they are sex links at all. There is one that has a couple of tiny black feathers but no red in sight. Maybe one of you can help if I post a pic. I so desperately want to hatch some girls.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

The females are light buff/red with reddish strips down their backs. The roosters will be white (light yellow) as chicks.

What cross where the eggs from? Where did you order them from?

 

[Kedreeva]

Male on the left female on the right.... but it would help to see pics of yours.

 

[burquechick]

It's totally possible. But maybe you can include some pix to help us help you.

 

[asherjasper]

Well, judging by that pic - I have all boys again. I give up! I get so attached to these chicks and i can't keep them

Here are my little fluffs. One more hatched just like it - still in the incubator

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

If you ordered the eggs from a hatchery, they could have sent you substitutions. They could be anything... white leghorns, buff orps, white rocks..

It would help us to know where you purchased them from. Any additional info would help!

 

[asherjasper]

I ordered from a local feed barn and specified sex links. Don't know how much I trust them

One of the eggs was a lighter brown than the others. One of the chicks is WAY fluffier/prettier than the others. A couple have little spots of black feathers.
The last batch I got that were all light yellow did seem to all act like roosters. By 3 weeks old they were sizing each other up and having mini fights.

 

[asherjasper]

Oh and I don't know if this helps - but the little pretty fluffy one hatched in a different way. Before it hatched it rolled all over the incubator in it's shell, knocking all the other eggs about. It was the first one to hatch. Two of the eggs have hatched almost 2 days later.

 

[orionburn]

It's a toss up with feed store chicks. We have a friend that got chicks twice from them this year. The first batch of "guaranteed pullets" had 4 roos. The second batch of "guaranteed egg layers" turned out to be broilers.

Maybe you could just place a small order with MyPetChicken. I think the minimum is 3 (depending on area). You'd have better chances of getting what you actually want from a hatchery compared to a feed store. Just remember hatcheries are never 100% right either, but your odds will be better.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I like Kedreeva's photo of the sex links. If we knew the parentage of the chicks, which breeds and colors were the hen and rooster, it might help. It is possible there is not that much difference in the colors of the chicks with certain parents, such as a buff roo, but my Speckled Sussex roo with Delaware hen chicks were even more different than that photo.

This may be a silly question, but are the parent's sex links? If the parents are sex links, the chicks are not. The rooster could give the silver gene to either his sons or daughters so you cannot tell the sex of the children of sex links by color.

You asked the odds. Here they are for a few numbers.

6 chicks

6 male 0 female - 1 in 64 or 1.6%
5 male 1 female - 6 in 64 or 9.4%
4 male 2 female - 15 in 64 or 23.4%
3 male 3 female - 20 in 64 or 31.3%
2 male 4 female - 15 in 64 or 23.4%
1 male 5 female - 6 in 64 or 9.4%
0 male 6 female - 1 in 64 or 1.6%

7 chicks

7 male 0 female - 1 in 128 or 0.8%
6 male 1 female - 7 in 128 or 5.5%
5 male 2 female - 21 in 128 or 16.4%
4 male 3 female - 35 in 128 or 27.3%
3 male 4 female - 35 in 128 or 27.3%
2 male 5 female - 21 in 128 or 16.4%
1 male 6 female - 7 in 128 or 5.5%
0 male 7 female - 1 in 128 or 0.8%

8 chicks

8 male 0 female - 1 in 256 or 0.4%
7 male 1 female - 8 in 256 or 3.1%
6 male 2 female - 28 in 256 or 10.9%
5 male 3 female - 56 in 256 or 21.9%
4 male 4 female - 70 in 256 or 27.3%
3 male 5 female - 56 in 256 or 21.9%
2 male 6 female - 28 in 256 or 10.9%
1 male 7 female - 8 in 256 or 3.1%
0 male 8 female - 1 in 256 or 0.4%