When can I sex my turkey? *PICS*

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Quote:
It's not on the tips of the feathers, when they are young they all have that. It's back maybe a 1/16 of an inch. It will be a faint white or black line.

Steve

 

[scbatz33]

Quote:
It's not on the tips of the feathers, when they are young they all have that. It's back maybe a 1/16 of an inch. It will be a faint white or black line.

Steve

Sorry, I didn't mean the literal tips, I meant the ends in that, they have like little bands towards the bottoms, but not at the very bottom. Kind of like stripes but not stripes in that there are only one on each feather....ok, that was clear as mud, I'm going back to tips!!! LOL!!

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

Yes that's it, good way to describe it as "bands". I'm going to try and get some pics if we can get them to show up.

Steve

 

[ticks]

Steve, if I sexed right I have a female. Is it just like a little bar from the tip of the feather, up a fraction of an inch?

 

[Steve_of_sandspoultry]

yes that's where it should be.

Steve

 

[Marion]

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That would be so very helpful! A picture is worth a thousand million zillion quadrillion words to me!

 

[walkswithdog]

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Nope those are juvenille feathers.

At about 11-12 weeks they begin to set in their adult RED based feathers at that point when the darker feathers come in they will have either black edging or white edging and usually along the back line is easiest to see.

ALL baby BRs have light red/tan feathers with white tips. Chuckle.

Them's juvenille feathers.

Boy BRs develop black edged adult feathers and carbuncles around 11-13 weeks.

Mine are quite easy to tell from the girls, they're also LARGER.

Once you know what to look for you get a feel for it in younger birds but if it's your only one you get to wait for adult BR red coming in.

 

[scbatz33]

Quote:
Nope those are juvenille feathers.

At about 11-12 weeks they begin to set in their adult RED based feathers at that point when the darker feathers come in they will have either black edging or white edging and usually along the back line is easiest to see.

ALL baby BRs have light red/tan feathers with white tips. Chuckle.

Them's juvenille feathers.

Boy BRs develop black edged adult feathers and carbuncles around 11-13 weeks.

Mine are quite easy to tell from the girls, they're also LARGER.

Once you know what to look for you get a feel for it in younger birds but if it's your only one you get to wait for adult BR red coming in.

I'm still gonna go girl on her though. She is smaller and has more feminine sized features than the others.

nothing wrong with wishful thinking, right?

 

[Marion]

I just went out and examined two BR poults that I have that are 8 weeks old, they have begun to get the dark brown/red feathers along their backs and when I picked them up and looked it was very easy to see the black edge on those feathers (the "baby" feathers were all trimmed in white just as Walkswithdog said)... both are male... I had suspected so but hoped for a "couple"! Maybe some of the 8 poults I have coming this Friday will turn out to be a "girl"... if not I will just have a buncha struttin and gobblin going on.

 

[ticks]

Steve, my camera was awful so I couldn't get clsoe ups, and "she" wouldn't stay still.
What do you think?