are these cockerels?

[Shelly0723]

Feather sexing is an old wife's tale.

what about a big head?

 

[nuthatched]

what about a big head?

Such as? Nope, also bogus.

 

[Charlotteandfriends]

I am looking at these and can't help think they are males. The coloring is lighter.

They are way to little to be able to tell...

 

[Shelly0723]

Such as? Nope, also bogus.

One of the baby chicks has a bigger head than the rest, my dad saw it and said it's a cockerel.

 

[Charlotteandfriends]

One of the baby chicks has a bigger head than the rest, my dad saw it and said it's a cockerel.

No, They are too little to tell. Head size doesn't matter especially if they are different breeds. When they are about 8 weeks or so, you will be able to tell.

 

[NatJ]

They are red.

With a red father and hens of red, white, and black, I don't think any of the chicks are going to be color-sexable. Certain combinations of red rooster/white hen do produce color-sexable chicks, but I don't think your White Orpington will have the "right" kind of white (there are at least 3 sets of genes that can make a chicken white, and the more common two cannot be used for color-sexable chicks.)

I tried doing the feather sexing and based on that, it seems that I might have 4 pullets and 3 cockerels.

Feather sexing is an old wife's tale.

Except when it actually works and there's a good solid genetic explanation for why.

Feather sexing reliably does work when the father has the genes for fast feathering, and the mother has the gene for slow feathering. That causes the sons to feather slowly and the daughters to feather quickly like their father.

Examining the wings at hatch is the earliest way to recognize that. A few weeks later, fast feathering chicks look normal (they are growing feathers) and slow feathering chicks stand out. If someone has a bunch of fast-feathering chicks and a few slow ones, it is common for them to post a thread asking "Is something wrong with my chicks?" because the slow-feathering ones are so much slower to get their feathers.

For any given set of backyard chickens, it is unlikely that the rooster will be fast-feathering and the hens will all be slow-feathering. But it does happen on occasion.

The idea of feather sexing working on ALL chicks, I agree that is not correct.

Will update the post once it's definitive what they are.

I look forward to that, because it's always fun to know!

If you keep hatching chicks from these parents, and keep track of what you think they will be and what they really are, you will eventually know for sure whether your flock actually produces chicks that can be sexed in one way or another.

 

[Shelly0723]

With a red father and hens of red, white, and black, I don't think any of the chicks are going to be color-sexable. Certain combinations of red rooster/white hen do produce color-sexable chicks, but I don't think your White Orpington will have the "right" kind of white (there are at least 3 sets of genes that can make a chicken white, and the more common two cannot be used for color-sexable chicks.)





Except when it actually works and there's a good solid genetic explanation for why.

Feather sexing reliably does work when the father has the genes for fast feathering, and the mother has the gene for slow feathering. That causes the sons to feather slowly and the daughters to feather quickly like their father.

Examining the wings at hatch is the earliest way to recognize that. A few weeks later, fast feathering chicks look normal (they are growing feathers) and slow feathering chicks stand out. If someone has a bunch of fast-feathering chicks and a few slow ones, it is common for them to post a thread asking "Is something wrong with my chicks?" because the slow-feathering ones are so much slower to get their feathers.

For any given set of backyard chickens, it is unlikely that the rooster will be fast-feathering and the hens will all be slow-feathering. But it does happen on occasion.

The idea of feather sexing working on ALL chicks, I agree that is not correct.



I look forward to that, because it's always fun to know!

If you keep hatching chicks from these parents, and keep track of what you think they will be and what they really are, you will eventually know for sure whether your flock actually produces chicks that can be sexed in one way or another.

Thank you for your reply. I think that at first they were sex linked because when I was given the eggs for my red chickens, the females were all black with golden white bottoms and the males had chipmunk coloring in varying degrees or golden yellow with a big black dot on top of the head and speckled head.

 

[nuthatched]

Thank you for your reply. I think that at first they were sex linked because when I was given the eggs for my red chickens, the females were all black with golden white bottoms and the males had chipmunk coloring in varying degrees or golden yellow with a big black dot on top of the head and speckled head.

Unfortunately, unless the parents were the right colors, those patterns don't mean anything.

 

[Shelly0723]

These are the red parents at that same age.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you for your reply. I think that at first they were sex linked because when I was given the eggs for my red chickens, the females were all black with golden white bottoms and the males had chipmunk coloring in varying degrees or golden yellow with a big black dot on top of the head and speckled head.

I think it is probably just a coincidence, but I cannot be positive. It will be interesting to see what happens as they grow.