charly1979 Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Fingers crossed Im off to see a bluebell, a speckly and some pekins tomorrow think they are POL if I remember rightly and I have been told that they are 100% female but after the whole Judith/Julian saga im petrified (I know mistakes can happen) Anyway would there be any thing I should be looking for, any tips would be fab. Thanks xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimi5 Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Hi, well with pekins it's dead easy from about 6 weeks or so the boys get their face gear, redden up and start to crow!!! Girls have much smaller head gear and it takes ages to redden up, really until they come into lay! Can't advise on any other types/breeds as pekins are the only ones I have experience of!! But watchout they come in SO many georgous colours.......it's difficult not to collect them!!! Also, they are small, but fiesty and total characters!!! Enjoy your chicken shopping!!! P.S piccies please!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 The first two are hybrids so provided they are coming from a decent seller will have been bought in by them as guaranteed females as these are sex linked and sexable on hatching. I say 'decent seller' as some people think they can make the hybrids themselves and dont always get the exact blend of parentage right, if the seller is small scale and says they hatched them themselves ask them about the parentage and sex linking and if they dont sound 100% sure of what they bred then be wary Pekins are easy to sex from about 3 weeks, by 6 weeks most people can sex them accurately Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charly1979 Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Thanks will let you know how I get on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dance in the dark Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 As redwing said. Hybrid males are very thin on the ground. Provided they were hatched by a decent place they will only have females there anyway. Most places buy in hybrids at about POL anyway. I have only had dealings with one breeder who had hybrid chicks. She bought the chicks at a young age and reared them herself (but refused to sell any before point of lay anyway) because it was cheaper. I generally always ask about sex anyway just as a little test for the breeder. If they are over keen to tell you they always hatch 90% females or something then be a bit wary. I normally ask questions like "what age were you able to sex this lot then?" and "how could you tell when you were sure?" Another thing that's good to check is if they do swaps or refunds if it does turn out you have a boy by mistake. Any good breeder will tell you things that have already been said here like "Pekin boys tend to redden up very quickly" Or say females of this breed tend to feather up quicker, but still have a small comb. On a side note. There are always potential accident. I once bought a 15 week old lavender araucana from an experienced breeder and she only told me she was 85% sure it was a girl. That was Letitia, she was a particular riddle. She looked girly but had a more boyish head, but virtually no comb. Either way she has had a full laying season so I think I am alright... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charly1979 Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Thanks I asked the questions and asked plenty of times if they were girls they said they only buy in the girls re hybrids, re the pekins she said I was welcome to see the boys ......... anyway fingers crossed they seemed genuine lets hope so as I now have 2 pekins, a bluebell and a speckly. I also now have VERY VERY peeved Priccila who is being incredibly vocal and seems to be not liking the pekins maybe further posts re that issue I will play it by ear and as I have what appears to be a shanty town of various house pens etc it will be easy to sepearte them. I also have concerns about my tiny pekin (Clarabell) my cat Eyore looked very intreasted but only for a few moments but we have a Ginger cat who visits occassionally and I dont trust him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
