Late-hatch versus male?

[MomFoldingLaundry]

Hey guys. I'm watching very closely to see if I can get more males in my flock. I have 5 nearing maturity, and none seem like boys. Of my 6 adults, only one is a boy. and of my new hatch of 9...only one is obviously smaller that the rest.

Here's my question: the tiny one was born VERY late. Like, he was absolutely last to the party. By like 24 hours.

So, is he small because he was born late, or small because he is a boy? Or has anyone noticed whether boys are born later?

 

[Chookchicken]

Depending on what breed you have generally the boys are bigger or the same size (the breed you have maybe different).

 

[Nabiki]

4 months ago ( from my mix bantam flock)
3 chicks hatched on day19 ( one stripped white and 2 black )
3 on day20 ( 2 stripped white and a black )
On day21 one chick hatched ( all black with a spot on head )
This white spot differentiated him from others
And yes he is a cockerel
Others were twice bigger than him when at 2 months of age
He is shorter and little smaller than others till now

We're talking about quail here.

@MomFoldingLaundry It's hard to tell yet. Late hatchers are often small, so it's hard to say until the feathers start coming in. I'm sure you have some males in your new batch, though.

There are a lot of people who would be thrilled with an all hen hatch!

 

[CovidtimeQuail]

Despite what they say about coturnix males being smaller, it isn't a noticeable difference in my flock, and any size differential takes place later when they're already 8-10 weeks old. By then, you can tell the males by their behavior.

I have noticed, however, the really bossy chicks turn out to be female. Even at a young age, they're more likely to come to the front of the cage out of curiosity or in hopes of a treat.

As for runts, mine is a female. Runts are just runts, last in the pecking order and cursed by bad luck or genetics.

 

[FloorCandy]

The largest bird in my flock is a pharaoh tuxedo male. The smallest bird in my flock is a Rosetta male. With chicks there’s not really a reliable size difference until they are adults if there is any size difference. You’ll see a runt one day be bigger than a first born, or a giant chick end up being tiny compared to his siblings.

Another member hatched some of my eggs, and told me how big one of the hens is, and it looks just like my big male, so it runs in the family lol. I then sent her this photo of a giant chick that was towering over the others like Chickzilla:

it ended up being a male.

 

[Chip76]

My smallest was my only female, Pedro. She grew full size eventually, though.. just took her a lot longer. She was also born last - 4 hours after #1, 2 hours after #6.

 

[MomFoldingLaundry]

Despite what they say about coturnix males being smaller, it isn't a noticeable difference in my flock, and any size differential takes place later when they're already 8-10 weeks old. By then, you can tell the males by their behavior.

I have noticed, however, the really bossy chicks turn out to be female. Even at a young age, they're more likely to come to the front of the cage out of curiosity or in hopes of a treat.

As for runts, mine is a female. Runts are just runts, last in the pecking order and cursed by bad luck or genetics.

Funny. My one adult male was tiny even when we got him as a chick.

That said, the other adult male I had wasn't all that different in size from the others. PErhaps because he was a tuxedo?

I've noticed my tuxedo birds are larger than a the wild-type ones.

 

[007Sean]

Hey guys. I'm watching very closely to see if I can get more males in my flock. I have 5 nearing maturity, and none seem like boys. Of my 6 adults, only one is a boy. and of my new hatch of 9...only one is obviously smaller that the rest.

Here's my question: the tiny one was born VERY late. Like, he was absolutely last to the party. By like 24 hours.

So, is he small because he was born late, or small because he is a boy? Or has anyone noticed whether boys are born later?

I don't think it's a question of whether it's a male or female for the variance in size but a direct relation to the parent stock and their quality of a nutritional feed ration.

That's why it is imperative to choose your breeding stock carefully and to provide a high quality complete and balanced feed.
By doing just those two things will go a long way in producing viable healthy chicks. Substandard begets substandard! It's hard for a chick to overcome poor gene's and poor quality feed.