White faced black Spanish enthusiasts, come hither!

[Gallusfarm]

So now that my first hatch is a month old, I'm noticing a very definitive difference in comb and wattle development...being either crazy big, or not big at all, with not one "in-between" bird. Have you all found, as it pertains only to WFBS, that the comb and wattle in your young birds has been a consistent indicator of gender, or have you been pleasantly suprised around week 16 that some of the birds that grown up with the larger combs and wattles and longer tails turned out to be hens? Do your juveniles fall into either extreme like this? I would hate to cull my best pullets, prematurely assessing them as cockerels, but would love to sell off some earlier rather than later to focus on my potential breeders. I'll try and post some pics later. Thanks!!!

I always see what you are speaking of here. By 3 to 4 weeks, genders are obvious, no in-betweens or questionables. No surprises, either. I guess this is a good thing. Congratualations on your hatches.

What are the deal breakers in your cockerels that you are culling for at this age?

 

[WesInSF]

Thanks Gallus! My second hatch came out....and even better, 19 out of 24 this time. Right now I'm looking mainly at overall size and leg length as the two primary measures of who will stay and who will go. So out of the first hatch, I'll keep 2 out of the 6 cockerels, and sell the rest. Then I'll do the same on the second batch, and out of those keepers, I'll then look at overall type and carriage, and then secondary factors such as the presence of white tips in the primaries or chest at the one-month mark, straightness and points of the comb, and eye color.

 

[Gallusfarm]

Sweet!! That is a great hatch rate. Thanks for the culling tips.

Here's a female at one month.


here is a male the same age of the female above.







two males on the right, and a female on the left.




here is a pair at 9 weeks.

 

[WesInSF]

Look at those necks! Nice high carriage as well. I'll try and post some pics as well of my 5-week olds...it's just tough with the kids attempting to chase after them all the time.

 

[kitpurs43]

I acquired five from Sandy at the Spring Hill Heritage Poultry Conservation. Mine are around five weeks and seem far more feathered filled. I am positive about two being cockerels and certain one is a female. The other two are questionable. If I go strictly by comb size, I have three pullets. I am very excited! I have noticed on other posts, that the ones that have been acquired from Sandy seemed to have far more white in the face. Any thoughts on that? Will they likely have more definition to their face earlier?

 

[anderson8505]

I acquired five from Sandy at the Spring Hill Heritage Poultry Conservation. Mine are around five weeks and seem far more feathered filled. I am positive about two being cockerels and certain one is a female. The other two are questionable. If I go strictly by comb size, I have three pullets. I am very excited! I have noticed on other posts, that the ones that have been acquired from Sandy seemed to have far more white in the face. Any thoughts on that? Will they likely have more definition to their face earlier?

I find this breed extremely easy to sex-- if they have large combs, they're male. Sandy is terrific!

 

[LibertyRoo]

 

[Gaiser Ranch]

 

[kitpurs43]

Sadly, my two roos died due to Avian Pox that started dry and turned wet. One day they were ok and the next morning they were goners. One of my little girls is sick now with wet pox. the other two just have dry. I am dosing with antibiotics just to be sure it in not a secondary infection. One eye is swollen shut and the other oozes constantly. The rest of my flock went through this a few weeks before and I lost two out of 14 due to wet pox. I will be looking for a replacement roo when it is all cleared up and the pens are cleaned thoroughly.

 

[WesInSF]

Kitspur, Very sorry to hear of your outbreak. I dealt with it once growing up in the Catskills in upstate New York, before there was a vaccine, and it wiped out my entire flock, over 150 birds. I don't know what part of the country you are in, but I could send a roo for the cost of shipping only once you are up and running again.