Need help with sexing Gabriella/Gabriel! **photos**

[Sonoran Silkies]

June looks to be rumpless;

Ruby looks male to me--see how the saddle feathers are curling down beside his tail--check the ends to see if they are pointed or rounded, and that will tell you for sure; males are pointed: > frmales are rounded: )

Same with Gabriel.

 

[ZooMummzy]

No, she has a tail, lol she was just being a pain like Norah was. They are my problem children. We call them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum!

This is going to sound so stupid, but even though I am in my 2nd year of chickens I cannot find the saddle feathers. I have looked, I have read, I have everything and I cannot figure out where they are. I know the tail feathers on Gabriella's/Garbriel's are pointed and Ruby's round. Where are the saddle feathers in relationship to the wings and tail?

If Ruby were a boy, wouldn't she have a comb by now? She is older than Gabriella by almost 2 weeks and has nothing and what she does have is barely pink. Sorry not trying to disagree, just trying to figure it out and become more knowledgeable on the differences people see that I don't.

 

[Sequin]

The jumping could be establishing pecking order. IMHO not all the same rules apply with EE's because there is such a variety of breed combinations to create them. My BA's have more stand-up-ish tails than many of my EE's, but they are all hens. I have noticed as they grow a difference in body type, coloring, combs, etc. between them all. So, if the tail stands a little more than the others - I don't usually bet the farm on it being a roo until it crows or lays an egg. The strange noise I was talking about is not shrill. It is a mid-range noise that is really hard for me to describe. Maybe a Errr err. I don't hear it all the time, but then, most all my birds are happy to see me and no one feels threatened by my presence so as to need the aid of a roo for protection. So, that is my guess. I still think Gabriella is a she, along with all the rest of your girls. How old is Gabriella?

 

[FeatherFluff]

I am thinking all girls.... the coloration of the SLW male has much less lacing than the female.

In regards to roosters making themselves known....last year, as I listened to my chickies in the bathroom brooder... I decided that the practice/early crowing attempts sound like those little party-horn/ blower things.

 

[ZooMummzy]

Quote:
She is 7 weeks old and that is not the noise I hear. It is kind of like the party horn thing FeatherFluff mentioned but not really? (thank you FeatherFluff for your input too!) It is definitely not crowing. More like a screeching.

Yes, that is true about the pecking order and the whole EE thing. There are three EE's in one big brooder and Gabby has always been the "witch" of the group from Day 1! I know last year I was still unsure about my two EE pullets at almost 5 months so I think I will just wait till I hear the crow. My last EE cockerel crowed at 10 weeks so I'm not far from that. I guess it is just the tail that really got me going because I have never seen a pointed tail like that so early. Maybe just her type? I still can't find the saddle feathers

I checked and all my chicks have pointed feathers near their tail area and I know they are not all roosters. Lol I need to attend Chicken Parts 101 I think

Thank you for the input. It is really appreciated. She is so pretty that I would hate to give her away if I didn't have to. I would love to keep a rooster but I doubt my neighbors would!

 

[klf73]

I say Gabriel, looks like a cockeral to me....