Modern game bantam chicks

[Julevien]

Hi guys,

I am new to the forum and new to game bantams as well, used to have large Brahma and Araucana chickens

I currently have 4 modern game chicks, 2 of three weeks and 2 of five weeks old.

I am trying to look for signs of gender, as the general interwebs seems to be rather void of information

Are there breed specific signs? Age-related or behavioral that I can keep an eye out for?

I will include some pictures of the chicks, maybe someone notices something already..

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I always am glad to learn!

Chick 1 5 weeks

Chick 2 3 weeks - cockerel?

Chick 3 - 3 weeks + photo bomb

Chick 4 - 5 weeks - slow grower

Thanks in advance everybody!

Will try to get pics in better positions as well

 

[HappyClucker7]

It's still too early to tell. You'll have to wait until they are 6-8 weeks old before the differences will really start to show.
That is a really cool enclosure you have for them though! I bet all those logs and plants keep them pretty entertained!

 

[Julevien]

It's still too early to tell. You'll have to wait until they are 6-8 weeks old before the differences will really start to show.
That is a really cool enclosure you have for them though! I bet all those logs and plants keep them pretty entertained!

Aw I don't like being patient

Thanks, we are building a new coop so didn't want them to get bored inside.

It's entertaining for me to watch them speed around and hop around the branches

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

What a great enclosure! Chick 2 looks like the only cockerel so far

 

[Julevien]

What a great enclosure! Chick 2 looks like the only cockerel so far

Thank you
Only one roo would be cool of course, let's see if any of the others have a coming out soon

 

[Rhodebar Lover]

Thank you
Only one roo would be cool of course, let's see if any of the others have a coming out soon

That's how it is! They're pullets until they're not Have fun with the Modern Games! I've always wanted to raise some because their appearance is so unique

 

[Julevien]

That's how it is! They're pullets until they're not Have fun with the Modern Games! I've always wanted to raise some because their appearance is so unique

Yeah friends used to have to some and they were fun characters as well
- my biggest chick decided to use my arm as a vantage point, not afraid at all!

 

[Delaneygraces]

I must say I'm quite jealous of your little brown reds! I've had the worst luck in hatching the brown-red variety this year.
It's a little difficult to tell gender at this age, even more so from a picture. I never rely on combs in moderns, as they can be misleading. I usually can tell their gender a little after a month old, when they start fully feathering in, and I can tell which ones are getting those shinier/colorful cockerel feathers in their back/wings/saddle.
For behavior, I have noticed in my chicks (this may be entirely different for others though), that the little cockerels are much more friendly/fearless/willing to be picked up compared to the females, in this year and past years.

Good luck with your little birds!

 

[Ruthster55]

They are lovely and have a nice setup.

Even if you have a male or two, it is not really a bad situation.

With games, the hens are valued as broodies but you can also keep a rooster or two so as to pass broody traits onto the next generation.

Late at night, you can slip some incubator chicks under the game hen after she has been broody for a while. The hen will raise them like no other hen or brooder will.

 

[JaeG]

Modern Game roosters look the same as the Old English Game bantams in that they get dark chests in the brown reds (and some other colour mutations). We were able to tell our little duckwing OEGB was a cockerel at 5 weeks old because he started to get dark patches on his chest.

I'm hoping to hatch some Modern Games sometime soon - they are gorgeous.