NEED HELP sexing Black Copper Marans! SO CONFUSED!

[TheDirtyLawyer]

So I have two black copper marans chicks. The breeder says that all of hers get pink/red combs and waddles early. The boys I guess just get larger as they get older obviously. I thought I probably had two cockerels bc compared to my other chicks they have large legs and pinker combs.

Then I saw a picture of a comb on one of hers from the same hatching and it was much bigger and redder.

Still confused bc ....

Chick #1 has copper hackles and was slow feathering w almost no tail feathers still. Are the copper color feathers a sure sign??? This one stands and acts more roosterish to me. 1st three pics

Chick #2 was fast feathering and has a lot of copper but not on the neck? 2nd three pics

The last picture is the comb on the breeder chicks. One looks like a for sure pullet and one looks like a for sure cockerel... wth are MINE!???

Thank you for any insight! She's saving one pullet for me if I need it and I can't figure out if I do or not! Going back and forth!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Top one looks to be female, second one looks to be male.

FBCM males will also usually get red blocks on their wings bows, which is a tip off, but both sexes have gold at hackles (which is what makes them copper of the BCM).

Both will get larger sized combs at early age, but in my experience, only the boys will get red. Females, while large yellow comb, won't pink and redden until point of lay.

Personally, if she is holding a pullet for you, I'd go and get it. I think you will end up with a trio which is a good start for your own flock of FBCM.

My thoughts.
LofMc

 

[TheDirtyLawyer]

Top one looks to be female, second one looks to be male.

FBCM males will also usually get red blocks on their wings bows, which is a tip off, but both sexes have gold at hackles (which is what makes them copper of the BCM).

Both will get larger sized combs at early age, but in my experience, only the boys will get red. Females, while large yellow comb, won't pink and redden until point of lay.

Personally, if she is holding a pullet for you, I'd go and get it. I think you will end up with a trio which is a good start for your own flock of FBCM.

My thoughts.
LofMc

Thank you! So helpful. So is it possible that she just has weird pink comb chickens?! Bc I think the pullet she's saving has a pinkish comb too! See that last picture? It's the one in the front.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

It is comparative...and mind you...I'm guessing from computer screens which may be set to different tones....but you can tell the gender difference in lines by looking at same age siblings keeping in mind that some males mature more slowly.

The black bird in front looks to be a pullet compared to the black bird in the back which is a rooster.

Pink is odd for FBCM, but that doesn't look pink to me..it still is very pale colored...on my computer.

It boils down to the reputation and trusthworthiness of this breeder. If she is willing to work with you to assure you get a pullet, then great. However, be prepared she may not want to take any roosters back onto her property due to biosecurity reasons. you may have to figure out what you'll do with excess roosters if the birds do indeed prove male.

But from your photos, the top bird looks female, the bottom looks male, and the offered bird looks older and a pullet.

LofMc

 

[TheDirtyLawyer]

It is comparative...and mind you...I'm guessing from computer screens which may be set to different tones....but you can tell the gender difference in lines by looking at same age siblings keeping in mind that some males mature more slowly.

The black bird in front looks to be a pullet compared to the black bird in the back which is a rooster.

Pink is odd for FBCM, but that doesn't look pink to me..it still is very pale colored...on my computer.

It boils down to the reputation and trusthworthiness of this breeder. If she is willing to work with you to assure you get a pullet, then great. However, be prepared she may not want to take any roosters back onto her property due to biosecurity reasons. you may have to figure out what you'll do with excess roosters if the birds do indeed prove male.

But from your photos, the top bird looks female, the bottom looks male, and the offered bird looks older and a pullet.

LofMc

Thank you! Sounds right? Yes they are more pale than pink. I thought if it wasn't yellow it was pink... but you are right.

 

[InfamousElle]

Well idk how old they’re suppose to be but I can tell you I was having the exact same problem trying to figure mine out, as I was left with two out of four black copper marans’ that I bought straight run && we had tried to pick the females out but I kept two just in case I got it wrong on one of them thinking that you know, if there was only four total, there was a likelihood at least two out of the four had to be female.. So the idea being if I kept two, I would hopefully get at least one female. I went by all of the sexing online, the tail and feathers and all that at one day old, and two days old, and three days old, and six days old, and so on and so forth, and I just kept mixing them up and really couldn’t be sure because as they get older, it’s like they’re growing at different rates and everything‘s changing.. So it’s like yeah you can use the one day old method & figure out which ones look like hens one day, and if you fail to mark them properly, or they lose their bands, it’s like by day six you’re looking at a different method of sexing and you’re looking at different things like their wing feathers or something, and it’s like yeah then you have to kind of start all over again and it can be confusing if you get chicks that are now getting different results than they did the other day or whatever…


So yeah, we decided to try to wait a little bit till they were a little bit older and it became more apparent, but honestly lol, even at around 2-3 months it was like… I just kept reading diff things that were making it confusing to me… Like you see some websites try to say that the females shouldn’t be having combs and waddles, and that the males will get red combs and waddles sooner than the females, && some saying females shouldn’t get red combs & waddles and it’s just like that was not my experience w/ other chickens & just doesn’t sound accurate as it seems it would depend on the breed & what you should expect a female of that breed to look like as our female RIR has a red comb & waddle so it’s like, uhm.…? What am I looking for here? Though mine were not getting those ruffled looking tail feathers & seems like they were developing to look like hens… They all had pretty much the same looking combs and waddles around 2 to 3 months that weren’t quite red yet, they were like a little pink I guess you could say like human skin color color… But all of them had them… And then looking at like just how they acted in their feathers and everything it was like to me, both of the chickens that I kept really were starting to look like females… But again everything I was reading, was like just confusing me b/c according to one method it’s like I ok, I had females, but according to another, I had males.. Lol. Then at younger ages according to other methods, I had one each lol. I just felt like I sexed the best I could & believed I had picked the females so I finally took them to a vet who took two seconds looking at them, and instantly knew they were both females after all lol. So judging on what I’ve been going off of what the vet said, honestly I look at these pictures and think that the first three definitely look like my black copper marans described here that both turned out to be hens. The second group of photos do look like they could possibly be a boy but again, if the females can have red combs & waddles then I’m sure it could actually possibly be a girl as well. Though, I would add that when I googled it, my reading had stated that the female BCMs have ‘yellow’ combs & waddles so I mean.. Take that for what it is, lol internet information… && I mean, go with your gut, the females are going to have a wider pelvic structure, & from what it sounds like, they’ll have the typical hen tail feathers that are rounded & whole at the ends & not split & ruffled w/ an arc starting to appear like a roo would have, && idk about the copper coloring & how that presents on females versus males, but yea, if your really wanting a definite confirmation, I would just take them into a vet that offers chicken sexing. At this age they’re a little older so once the vet looks at them they won’t have to run a lab test to tell you & can just tell you on the spot looking at them which the vet here in AZ didn’t even charge me for. I thought that was like really cool, no one lets me get off with free knowledge coming from someone with a knowledgeable skill set I don’t have anymore these days so the fact that any business just said n/p don’t worry about it & have a nice day when they could’ve otherwise ran the damn labs & charged me hundreds anyway w/ me being none the wiser that it wasn’t all necessary, that was a very respectable thing to do & unfortunately most the world just isn’t like that anymore…

My guess though? Or my input..? W/o being able to see/look at their tail feathers in a standing normal casual position, I would say the top 3 look female for sure, definitely female. The next 3 could be male imo & appear to be male based on what I was told about comb color & feathers from what I can see in the photos, but I am less sure if this one, could go either way if females can have red waddles & combs.. Just kinda looks male to me but yea… the bottom pic of lots of chickens almost looks like there’s one female w/ a yellow comb & if the one with a red comb is a black copper maran & not something else, I mean it def has a red comb.. Lol so idk… Do you have any pics of the chickens just standing in their typical upright position to see how the feathers on the tail look & just to give a better all around view/angle of their features? It might be easier to tell that way, that’s the only reason I ask… But yea, def try going to a vet that sees chickens, they’ll probably tell you if you don’t know anyone else who can sex them for you. Good luck!

 

[nuthatched]

Well idk how old they’re suppose to be but I can tell you I was having the exact same problem trying to figure mine out, as I was left with two out of four black copper marans’ that I bought straight run && we had tried to pick the females out but I kept two just in case I got it wrong on one of them thinking that you know, if there was only four total, there was a likelihood at least two out of the four had to be female.. So the idea being if I kept two, I would hopefully get at least one female. I went by all of the sexing online, the tail and feathers and all that at one day old, and two days old, and three days old, and six days old, and so on and so forth, and I just kept mixing them up and really couldn’t be sure because as they get older, it’s like they’re growing at different rates and everything‘s changing.. So it’s like yeah you can use the one day old method & figure out which ones look like hens one day, and if you fail to mark them properly, or they lose their bands, it’s like by day six you’re looking at a different method of sexing and you’re looking at different things like their wing feathers or something, and it’s like yeah then you have to kind of start all over again and it can be confusing if you get chicks that are now getting different results than they did the other day or whatever…


So yeah, we decided to try to wait a little bit till they were a little bit older and it became more apparent, but honestly lol, even at around 2-3 months it was like… I just kept reading diff things that were making it confusing to me… Like you see some websites try to say that the females shouldn’t be having combs and waddles, and that the males will get red combs and waddles sooner than the females, && some saying females shouldn’t get red combs & waddles and it’s just like that was not my experience w/ other chickens & just doesn’t sound accurate as it seems it would depend on the breed & what you should expect a female of that breed to look like as our female RIR has a red comb & waddle so it’s like, uhm.…? What am I looking for here? Though mine were not getting those ruffled looking tail feathers & seems like they were developing to look like hens… They all had pretty much the same looking combs and waddles around 2 to 3 months that weren’t quite red yet, they were like a little pink I guess you could say like human skin color color… But all of them had them… And then looking at like just how they acted in their feathers and everything it was like to me, both of the chickens that I kept really were starting to look like females… But again everything I was reading, was like just confusing me b/c according to one method it’s like I ok, I had females, but according to another, I had males.. Lol. Then at younger ages according to other methods, I had one each lol. I just felt like I sexed the best I could & believed I had picked the females so I finally took them to a vet who took two seconds looking at them, and instantly knew they were both females after all lol. So judging on what I’ve been going off of what the vet said, honestly I look at these pictures and think that the first three definitely look like my black copper marans described here that both turned out to be hens. The second group of photos do look like they could possibly be a boy but again, if the females can have red combs & waddles then I’m sure it could actually possibly be a girl as well. Though, I would add that when I googled it, my reading had stated that the female BCMs have ‘yellow’ combs & waddles so I mean.. Take that for what it is, lol internet information… && I mean, go with your gut, the females are going to have a wider pelvic structure, & from what it sounds like, they’ll have the typical hen tail feathers that are rounded & whole at the ends & not split & ruffled w/ an arc starting to appear like a roo would have, && idk about the copper coloring & how that presents on females versus males, but yea, if your really wanting a definite confirmation, I would just take them into a vet that offers chicken sexing. At this age they’re a little older so once the vet looks at them they won’t have to run a lab test to tell you & can just tell you on the spot looking at them which the vet here in AZ didn’t even charge me for. I thought that was like really cool, no one lets me get off with free knowledge coming from someone with a knowledgeable skill set I don’t have anymore these days so the fact that any business just said n/p don’t worry about it & have a nice day when they could’ve otherwise ran the damn labs & charged me hundreds anyway w/ me being none the wiser that it wasn’t all necessary, that was a very respectable thing to do & unfortunately most the world just isn’t like that anymore…

My guess though? Or my input..? W/o being able to see/look at their tail feathers in a standing normal casual position, I would say the top 3 look female for sure, definitely female. The next 3 could be male imo & appear to be male based on what I was told about comb color & feathers from what I can see in the photos, but I am less sure if this one, could go either way if females can have red waddles & combs.. Just kinda looks male to me but yea… the bottom pic of lots of chickens almost looks like there’s one female w/ a yellow comb & if the one with a red comb is a black copper maran & not something else, I mean it def has a red comb.. Lol so idk… Do you have any pics of the chickens just standing in their typical upright position to see how the feathers on the tail look & just to give a better all around view/angle of their features? It might be easier to tell that way, that’s the only reason I ask… But yea, def try going to a vet that sees chickens, they’ll probably tell you if you don’t know anyone else who can sex them for you. Good luck!

This thread is 5 years old, the sex of the birds has undoubtedly been known by now. :]