16 Week Old Easter Egger ... Cockerels or Pullets?

[LadyoftheRaptors]

I have some 16 week old Easter Eggers that I ordered through Tractor Supply that were supposed to be all pullets. I know at least 3 are cockerels - the two multi colored birds in Picture6, and the brown/black bird on the left in Picture4. I'm curious of any other opinions on the other birds in the pictures. There are 4 or so other birds I'm not sure about - some pictures are of the same bird, just different angles. Thank you!

 

[WingItRanch]

Picture 1: both pullets
Picture 2: Both EEs are cockerels
Picture 3: all 3 are pullets
Picture 4: cockerel on the left, pullet in the middle, cockerel on the right
Picture 5: all probably pullets (the one in shadow is hard to see)
Picture 6: both pullets

 

[WingItRanch]

Reading your description, I think your Pictures uploaded differently

 

[LadyoftheRaptors]

Reading your description, I think your Pictures uploaded differently

You are correct - if you hover over the pictures the names are Picture1.jpg to Picture6.jpg (not in the correct order).

 

[LadyoftheRaptors]

Picture 1: both pullets
Picture 2: Both EEs are cockerels
Picture 3: all 3 are pullets
Picture 4: cockerel on the left, pullet in the middle, cockerel on the right
Picture 5: all probably pullets (the one in shadow is hard to see)
Picture 6: both pullets

Thank you for looking and responding! My references of the pictures were to the names instead of the order. You referenced them in the order they're shown - in picture 3 there are 4 birds... one is on the bottom of the picture. I feel like that is a sickle feather on that particular bird. Do you see it too? And in that first picture - you don't think those are the beginnings of sickle feathers? They look pretty curvy at the tip. I read that the sickle and hackle feathers don't typically appear/develop between 16-24 weeks.

 

[WingItRanch]

Thank you for looking and responding! My references of the pictures were to the names instead of the order. You referenced them in the order they're shown - in picture 3 there are 4 birds... one is on the bottom of the picture. I feel like that is a sickle feather on that particular bird. Do you see it too? And in that first picture - you don't think those are the beginnings of sickle feathers? They look pretty curvy at the tip. I read that the sickle and hackle feathers don't typically appear/develop between 16-24 weeks.

Oops you're right I missed the one at the bottom of picture 3. It's hard to tell from the angle but I think that's a pullet too. Sickle feathers come much later but it's not uncommon to have some wonky tail feathers when they're young.

In my experience, the easiest way to sex Easter Eggers is by their coloring. The females will have a more even or gradual color change. For example, the 2 girls in the 6th picture. The males will be splotchy. A big red flag is the reddish/rust color that appears on their shoulders.