Feather sex easter eggers?

[moms Tree]

I've read posts on this forum, and internet articles until my eyes are "bluggy". I understand in order to feather sex, the parents have to be this or that... even if I understood what everyone was talking about... I don't know anything about the parents. I bought some green eggs, laid by an Easter Egger from a lady with many easter egg chickens. She also has other breeds of chickens. All I know, is these little chicks hatched out of green eggs. Give it to me in layman's terms, cause I just don't understand what I'm reading... can Easter Eggers be mostly accurately feather sexed?

 

[ramirezframing]

no

 

[aoxa]

After they are feathered out they can be sexed by colour of their feathers (USUALLY). Not always. If they are solid colour, they can not be sexed by colour.

 

[goldfinches]

Aoxa's pictures are wonderful. Since they can't be sexed young by feathers, I look at combs. Pretty early on you can see the rows of peas on their combs. rows of 3 - boy, just 1 - girl.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Aoxa's pictures are wonderful. Since they can't be sexed young by feathers, I look at combs. Pretty early on you can see the rows of peas on their combs. rows of 3 - boy, just 1 - girl.

X2

 

[debid]

Once they are 4 weeks old, post pictures. Most will be obvious to an experienced eye by then.

 

[moms Tree]

Thank you.

 

[Coop Deville]

Love that pictoral guide, aoxa!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

x3 on what aoxa said.and her excellent photos.

Note the patchiness of the roo's colors in those photos. Roo's look like patchwork quilts (typically) while the hens have a more even patterning.

But don't freak if your patridge color hens go through a lot of different color phases and one of them looks like some brownish-red coming on the shoulders. They molt 7 times through their juvenile growth and they can change colors quite a bit from molt to molt and some of those times they can look "patchy" colored.

If I start with a good partridge look at 4 to 6 weeks or so (when their down has been first replaced with feathers), then a weird molt happens that worries me with some reddish brown color on the back/wing feathers, I don't assume roo until it lasts through another molt or two and those red shoulders and patchwork really begin to stand out as the hens will begin to even out again. Usually by then you'll have other signs as well (comb color, size, rows of peas, spiky hackle feathers, some curl sickle feathers starting to emerge).

As this woman has Easter Eggers (technically a mutt because it is a mixed bird) and other breeds on her farm...she may be breeding Easter Eggers to Easter Eggers, or Easter Eggers to other breeds...this creates another generation of mutts and can really increase the oddity in color and combs which can leave you guessing as to gender and breed. I also find my 2nd generation mutts tend to mature faster, which can also leave you to guessing.

I enjoy my mutts. They lay well and are hardy and are incredibly beautiful with very unique feather patterns....but they can drive you a bit nuts while they grow up as you wonder male or female.

Lady of McCamley