Polish sexing tips?

[kmom08]

Okay so I ordered 5 different breeds of chicks from hoovers hatchery. With my order I requested 3 silver laced polish females (2 of which died in the first 24 hours) One of my other breeds a silver laced wyandotte is looking like she may be a he. So I'm a little concerned there may have been mistakes with sexing as I ordered all females. I know there is a possibility for error sexing newly hatched chicks. I paid extra for all females because I'm not allowed roosters in my town.


So for the polish being the only one out of the initial 3 I'm hoping she is in fact a she. She's 7 weeks old as of yesterday. Photos attatched are from last week so she was 6 weeks then. What are some things I should watch for?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Watch for a red comb. It looks like a pullet to me. You may have troubles with a single polish in a flock getting pecked.

 

[kmom08]

Watch for a red comb. It looks like a pullet to me. You may have troubles with a single polish in a flock getting pecked.

I originally planned to keep 2 of them. I ordered them all together hoping to prevent any pecking. We'll see. I currently have 15 chicks but we're limited on how many we are allowed to have so I'll be selling some. So far the Polish has been on the top roost every night since we added the 2nd roost bar, I hope that's a good sign.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I find keeping the laced varieties trimmed can help them see better which can help them avoid crest pecking better too. So as that crest starts to obstruct vision it may help to trim it. Just make sure there are no fresh blood feathers when you trim, which are usually covered in a base sheath, and the base of the feathers are darker indicating a blood supply.

 

[kmom08]

My husband and I have actually talked about keeping her trimmed when they get in the way of her sight. We both agree she'll be just as cute with feathers trimmed and much happier. I've read to watch her when it rains as well, so her scalp doesn't show.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My husband and I have actually talked about keeping her trimmed when they get in the way of her sight. We both agree she'll be just as cute with feathers trimmed and much happier. I've read to watch her when it rains as well, so her scalp doesn't show.

The only times I have problems is during the molts. I repeatedly keep trimming them during them and it also helps to get the sheaths removed. You can follow my link in my signature to see my polish trimmed. No matter how many times I do a neat trim, they grow out a few funky feathers to mess it up.

 

[silkie10]

She is so dang cute!