Sexing welsummers

[HungryPenguin]

They appear to be females. Sight sexing welsummers based on eye strips and head and body stripes is supposedly around 90% accurate.

I'm pretty curious about my little one now, according to the feather coloring I was sure female... now at week four she has quite the comb. Do they just get big combs as babies?

 

[azygous]

Welsummer hens do have large single combs. Several of my Welsummers hens have had spurs, as well. That's just a bonus.

 

[HungryPenguin]

Welsummer hens do have large single combs. Several of my Welsummers hens have had spurs, as well. That's just a bonus.

Thank you for the response! That makes me feel a lot more hopeful. Here's a pic of her at week one... seems like her chipmunk strip and eyeliner would suggest a female. What do y'all think?

 

[azygous]

It's probably 99% you have a pullet, but I've experienced ambiguous markings on auto sex chicks, and a cockerel can look just like a pullet with all of the markings of a pullet but grow up to be a rooster.

This happened with Cream Legbar chicks, another auto sex breed, I ordered from MyPetChicken about five years ago. The rooster that grew up from a chick with vivid pullet markings mated an EE hen and she produced an egg that hatched into a chick with vivid pullet markings. That chick is now my four-year old second rooster.

Think positively. You have a very excellent chance of actually having your chick grow up to be a hen. Maybe she'll even have spurs. Bonus!

 

[HungryPenguin]

It's probably 99% you have a pullet, but I've experienced ambiguous markings on auto sex chicks, and a cockerel can look just like a pullet with all of the markings of a pullet but grow up to be a rooster.

This happened with Cream Legbar chicks, another auto sex breed, I ordered from MyPetChicken about five years ago. The rooster that grew up from a chick with vivid pullet markings mated an EE hen and she produced an egg that hatched into a chick with vivid pullet markings. That chick is now my four-year old second rooster.

Think positively. You have a very excellent chance of actually having your chick grow up to be a hen. Maybe she'll even have spurs. Bonus!

Ha okay so they can certianly trick us! Well I'll upload a recent picture of this chick at four weeks.

Has a little color on wattles coming in

 

[azygous]

How do you take such terrific photos? Not many here post such well framed and focused pics. Those are award winners.

 

[HungryPenguin]

Thank you! Cant take all the credit, shes quite the model and I wanted you all to see what I working with... what do you think I'm working with here? She's pretty confusing to me at this point! Potential roo?
Thanks!

 

[azygous]

It's really too soon to even venture a guess. But watch the color of the comb, not so much its size. As cockerels near age six weeks, their combs turn yellow orange, then slip into red orange. The pullets remain a pale pink or creamy yellow until point of lay.

 

[HungryPenguin]

Good to know, when her comb got triple the size of my other breeds, I automatically thought that determined her sex. Two more weeks to go then! How exciting!