What breed and gender are my 7 week old chickens?!

[Courtney Jane]

Hi guys! I am a first time chicken owner and I've had my girls for 9 days now. I got them from a friend when they were 6 weeks old and they didn't know what breed they were. They could possibly be a cross breed because it looked like they had a few different ones around the farm. So if anyone could help me out that'd be awesome! They also said they think they were girls but they were too young to know for sure and that i could swap them if they turned out to be boys (which will break my heart!)They've already grown so much and i thought maybe someone could help me out! Theres 3. One white one named Disco, a black one with gold on her chest called Matilda and a black one with white spots all over and her name is Gertrude. I've been doing a lot of reading/watching videos on sexing chickens and i am confused. It seems that Gertrude (spotty) is the smallest with no comb or wattle development as of yet. Disco (white) is the biggest and has very pink comb/wattles. Matilda (black) has comb development but its black and the videos I've been watching are all pink/red comb sexing so I'm a bit confused. I've also noticed that discos posture is different to the other 2. Seems the 2 dark ones stand more upright like roo's but if Gertrude was a roo, why is she also the smallest with no comb development? I thought boys were the biggest and developed combs/wattles first? There's no crowing as of yet but I am aware they can start quite late. Anywho, if anyone's got any answers for me it'd be much appreciated! Also, is it normal for there to be a bit of pinky/red in their droppings every now and then? I've noticed a few around the coop in the last week and i'm a tad worried. There's so much to know about chickens and i'm very paranoid!

 

[Birdsong 82]

Still a little young but I see all girls. As far as the blood I would definitely treat with corid As soon as possible. It could be coccidiosis. But if you’d like to post a picture it would be helpful to figure out what exactly but my guess is that is what it is. Which is treatable when you’ve caught it early and the medicine will not hurt them if that’s not what it is

 

[Courtney Jane]

Still a little young but I see all girls. As far as the blood I would definitely treat with corid As soon as possible. It could be coccidiosis. But if you’d like to post a picture it would be helpful to figure out what exactly but my guess is that is what it is. Which is treatable when you’ve caught it early and the medicine will not hurt them if that’s not what it is

Thanks for your response! I have heard of that which is why I was worried :/ this is the only one I could find but might be able to get a better one in the morning. Where do I get corid and what form does it come in? The guy at the shop I bought their starter crumbs from said it was medicated for coccidiosis but I'm not sure what the people I got them off were feeding them prior to that. Plus they eat so much darn grass maybe they're not eating enough of their crumbs?

 

[rebrascora]

At just over 7 weeks I would be a little concerned that all 3 have wattle development. The barred bird also looks to have pretty chunky legs which is often a cockerel trait. You will not see any male specific feathers (saddle and hackle feathers) until they are about 14weeks, so quite a long way to go yet for those. I'm not saying they are all males but I have my suspicions. Overall size is no indication of gender unless you have birds that are all the same breed, but even then you get some slower developing males and vice versa so you cannot read anything into size.

I would guess that they are all mixed breeds since they come from a farmyard. The white bird, Disco is likely to have Delaware parentage or may even be full Delaware. Gertrude is the one that most strikes me as male and whilst you say you cannot see comb and wattles they can be seen quite clearly in this side shot...

Those thick shanks and the posture just shout cockerel to me. In the photo the legs look white rather than yellow so perhaps some Marans parentage rather than Barred Rock but I would say mixed breed.
Matilda may be a black sex link cross breed with that red in the breast area but there are all sorts of other breeds that could lead to that colouring. Watch for red patches coming in on the wings/shoulders with that bird as that is a male characteristic.

I was going to say that the pink/red in the poop was likely to be shed intestinal lining which I see in poop from this age group occasionally and associate it with the growing process but the dark red in that poop you have posted a photo of, is too dark for shed intestinal lining and I would start them on Corid, especially as they have recently moved home and may not have developed resistance to the coccidia in your soil. Corid can be purchased from the cattle section of most farm stores and will come either as powder or liquid. The dose is 1.5 teapns per gallon of drinking water for the powder or 2 teaspns per gallon of the liquid. Coccidiosis can get out of control quickly and kill so it is best to start treating them asap. Make fresh daily and ensure that it is their only source of water and treat for 5 days. You can then give them a third of that dosage for another 10 days or use medicated feed if that's what you have bought. Follow that up with a Poultry Vitamin supplement like Nutri Drench or a human vitamin B complex supplement in their water but only after the Corid treatment is over.

Good luck with them and I hope I am wrong about their possible gender. I'm not certain at this stage but just suspicious they are males.

 

[Birdsong 82]

I also fed mine the medicated feed in mine still got it. It comes in a liquid form. It says on the bottle how much you mix in per gallon of water. And lt that be the only water available for 5 days

 

[Courtney Jane]

T

At just over 7 weeks I would be a little concerned that all 3 have wattle development. The barred bird also looks to have pretty chunky legs which is often a cockerel trait. You will not see any male specific feathers (saddle and hackle feathers) until they are about 14weeks, so quite a long way to go yet for those. I'm not saying they are all males but I have my suspicions. Overall size is no indication of gender unless you have birds that are all the same breed, but even then you get some slower developing males and vice versa so you cannot read anything into size.

I would guess that they are all mixed breeds since they come from a farmyard. The white bird, Disco is likely to have Delaware parentage or may even be full Delaware. Gertrude is the one that most strikes me as male and whilst you say you cannot see comb and wattles they can be seen quite clearly in this side shot...

Those thick shanks and the posture just shout cockerel to me. In the photo the legs look white rather than yellow so perhaps some Marans parentage rather than Barred Rock but I would say mixed breed.
Matilda may be a black sex link cross breed with that red in the breast area but there are all sorts of other breeds that could lead to that colouring. Watch for red patches coming in on the wings/shoulders with that bird as that is a male characteristic.

I was going to say that the pink/red in the poop was likely to be shed intestinal lining which I see in poop from this age group occasionally and associate it with the growing process but the dark red in that poop you have posted a photo of, is too dark for shed intestinal lining and I would start them on Corid, especially as they have recently moved home and may not have developed resistance to the coccidia in your soil. Corid can be purchased from the cattle section of most farm stores and will come either as powder or liquid. The dose is 1.5 teapns per gallon of drinking water for the powder or 2 teaspns per gallon of the liquid. Coccidiosis can get out of control quickly and kill so it is best to start treating them asap. Make fresh daily and ensure that it is their only source of water and treat for 5 days. You can then give them a third of that dosage for another 10 days or use medicated feed if that's what you have bought. Follow that up with a Poultry Vitamin supplement like Nutri Drench or a human vitamin B complex supplement in their water but only after the Corid treatment is over.

Good luck with them and I hope I am wrong about their possible gender. I'm not certain at this stage but just suspicious they are males.

Thanks for the very detailed response! I hope you're wrong about the gender but I really think at least 2 of them are boys :/ I am also now very concerned about coccidiosis, I will ring up the shop I got their food from and see if they've got the treatment. I hope it's not too late! Thanks again for your help. If they do have coccidiosis and If they are boys and I do need to send them back and swap them, will it be okay to do so since they've been sick? I don't want them to infect the other peoples flock.

 

[Courtney Jane]

I also fed mine the medicated feed in mine still got it. It comes in a liquid form. It says on the bottle how much you mix in per gallon of water. And lt that be the only water available for 5 days

Please tell me yours survived?! I really hope it's not too late for me

 

[Birdsong 82]

Never lost a bird to it. If it had gone on too long you’d be seeing worse signs from them. And there would be a lot more blood. In my opinion if you start with corid today they will be perfectly fine.

 

[lilmillefleur]

If they were vaccinated for coccidoisis do not feed them medicated.
I would just get them regular grower feed regardless.

 

[Birdsong 82]

If you do take the boys back I would wait till the treatment is over. It will take a while to be sure that our boys or girls So you will have time to treat them and make sure they’re cleared up