Wyandottes and Speckled Sussex

[HEChicken]

Ok, stopped by TSC today. They had 2 bins of assorted pullets that I learned were Red Sexlink, Black Sexlink and Brown Leghorns. Then they had a bin of straight run that are Speckled Sussex and GLW. I am kind of excited by these because they are different than what I already have. Plus, although they have a minimum purchase of 6 chicks, they said they would make an exception because I already have 6 and don't need 6 more. I haven't decided yet (at least that's what I'm telling myself

) but....in the event I DO decide to get some, I would really like to get pullets. And my fear is that if I get one of each, one or both will be a rooster and if I get two of each, I might STILL not end up with a pullet of each breed so - from people who have these breeds, is there anything I can look for to determine gender? I.e., if they were sexlinks, I'd know how to tell but am not sure if SS or GLW have anything that distinguishes the gender in chicks <1 week old?

 

[Katy]

I recently sold my SS flock..... the roos start getting their combs pretty early on, but I never saw any real difference for the age you're going to picking from.

 

[HEChicken]

Thanks Katy. That does beg the question though, as to why you sold the flock? Were you unhappy with the breed or just going a different direction?

 

[RAREROO]

Quote:
With the Wyandottes, I'm pretty sure you can wing sex them, the pullets would have longer, jagged looking wings and the males should be shorter and more even. But with the Speckled Sussex, and trust me, I raise these and found this out the hard way, you can see differences in the feathering patterns, but it is not linked to the sexes of this chicks. because with mine, I only kept all the ones that had the long feathers and ended up with hens and roos. But I'm pretty sure the Wyandottes will work that way.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Oh no...not unhappy at all.....just needing to downsize some and going in a different direction with some of my other breeds. I loved my SS ....very friendly and sweet birds.

 

[Katy]

I've never had GLWs, but I raise 3 other colors of wyandottes and often, but not always the day old roos have thicker legs.

 

[sloallie10]

You will most likely not tell the differnence, but its always fun but risky to get st run

 

[snowhorse]

I looooove my SS. I am getting a Roo soon to give her a boyfriend. I would highly recommend. She is the sweetest, friendliest bird I have. ( Beside the Silkies)

 

[briteday]

Except for bantams...comparing the thickness of the legs to others in the same breed is working pretty good for me. Look at a good 10-12 chicks in the same breed and you generally can see the difference after that.

 

[HEChicken]

Thanks for the suggestions on looking at the legs. I knew BYC'ers would have good suggestions