EE's 4 1/2 weeks...pullets (pretty sure) but straight or pea combs?

[Lady of McCamley]

Just getting curious about my 2 EE chicks. They are about 4 1/2 weeks old.

I'm pretty sure that I have pullets due to the female patterning that is coming in, so if that doesn't substantially change I've got 2 girls. Yippee...half the battle won.

The thing I'm having trouble seeing...and maybe it's just too early???? or am I being an ignoramus about this???...do they have pea combs or single combs? I know the difference between those comb types in adult birds, even juvenile birds....and I've seen straight combs in my chicks and rose combs, but this will be my first opportunity to get pea combs....and for the life of me I'm having trouble with the pea comb.

Do these have pea combs? Is it too early to tell? Or are they small single combs. When should I know?

I'm interested just out of eagerness...I know that if I get a pea comb EE then I have a pretty good chance (like 90%???) of getting blue/green eggs.

Thanks. Photos below. (They are being brooded by my Silkie so very shy, camera and otherwise)
Lady of McCamley

Chick #1 (Cadbury)




Chick #2 (Peeps)





And just for fun...this is the way they sleep with Momma on the roost now...it's hysterical to watch them get settled in at night now that Mom has decided we will roost instead of being on the nest.

 

[Veer67]

Cute family!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Time to break out the magnifying glass, easier to tell that way. The peacombs tend to look broader as chicks, even if you can only see one row of dots easily (which is hopefully what you see if you want girls), the whole comb space looks wide in comparison to a single comb... the single combs look like they just grow up and the peacombs look like they grow sideways on the edges. It's hard to tell on those pics, but the first one looks like a peacomb, looks wide and I think I can see tiny rows of dots beside the main ones, the second can't make out the comb with the feather color.
Cute family pictures, the chicks are going to be holding up the silkie pretty soon if they get much bigger.

 

[Wyandottes7]

I think they both look like pullets.

 

[donrae]

First one has a pea comb. The second is harder to tell, with the pic and the glare. Pea combs are broader, but with females there's the single ridge vs males having a triple ridge. I can see the row on the second bird, just can't tell if it's rounded ridges of a pea comb or more pointed bumps of a straight comb.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Time to break out the magnifying glass, easier to tell that way. The peacombs tend to look broader as chicks, even if you can only see one row of dots easily (which is hopefully what you see if you want girls), the whole comb space looks wide in comparison to a single comb... the single combs look like they just grow up and the peacombs look like they grow sideways on the edges. It's hard to tell on those pics, but the first one looks like a peacomb, looks wide and I think I can see tiny rows of dots beside the main ones, the second can't make out the comb with the feather color.
Cute family pictures, the chicks are going to be holding up the silkie pretty soon if they get much bigger.

Thank you for the comb information. So, it is not easy to tell the difference between a pea comb and a single comb when they are small chicks. Okay...that makes sense and makes me feel better that I'm not being completely inept at this.

As they are very skittish right now, I am trying to get them comfortable with my presence so I won't man handle them to just to satisfy my curiosity as time will make things more evident.

I can see them up close, though, when they are roosting with momma as the hutch is waist high and the roosting bar close to eye level.

The one you couldn't see due to the light feathers and lighting (chick #2), with your description, looks to me to have a baby pea comb...I couldn't tell on the other (chick #1) as she wouldn't hold still enough....her comb is a bit taller, but might be a pea comb too...you've given me hope.

I really, really want blue/green eggs...so hopefully I'll get some with these. Otherwise, there's always next spring.
Lady of McCamley

Lady of McCamley

 

[Lady of McCamley]

First one has a pea comb. The second is harder to tell, with the pic and the glare. Pea combs are broader, but with females there's the single ridge vs males having a triple ridge. I can see the row on the second bird, just can't tell if it's rounded ridges of a pea comb or more pointed bumps of a straight comb.

Thank you Donrae,
Okay...good...that's two votes for #1 with a pea comb. That's the one that wouldn't hold still for me this morning....#2 did let me get a close visual of her, and I think I see what Kelsea2290 was saying about the differences.

I'll keep looking for broader combs growing more '"sideways" than up, with little pea bumps vs. "mountain tops".

Good news is I'm only seeing one main bump/ridge on each one, which gives further hope they are pullets....if pea comb. And nobody has a big, pink comb at this point, with pretty predictable female patterning...so my hope is girls.

It will be fun seeing if I get blue/green egg layers

Lady of McCamley

 

[Lady of McCamley]

...funny thing...as I wanted to see if I could increase my odds of blue/green eggs, I picked from the hatchery sexed chicks (90% chance they're female, hopefully) and chose chicks with flat combs but slightly larger comb bases to accommodate a pea comb ...something that looked a bit different than the single comb I'm familiar with.

My fear was that choosing a broader base would cause me to pick males, ie those getting bigger combs, but I know if the EE has a pea comb there is a 90% chance it will lay blue/green eggs if a female.

However, I also found an ag article which told about the "partridge feather color test" which says, overall, generally, with partridge colored birds (the chipmunk chicks) the girls will have a singular running stripe from top of head, down the base of neck, all the way down the back. Also the girls tend to have 3 colors on their stripes....main broad color, then side stripes with two colors.

Males tend to have a head spot then nothing on their base of neck then stripe again on back with stripes of only 2 colors.

Interesting article so I took a chance and picked chicks with a little broader comb base and continuous stripes.

EE's are mutts, so that can throw things off, but the article was based on the partridge coloring and not breed types. We'll see.

So far the feathering is going female...we'll see about the combs

Lady of McCamley