Sexing Bearded Breeds

 

SEXING BEARDED BREEDS LIKE AMERICANAS AND EASTER EGGERS

Breeds with fluffy, bearded faces like Easter Eggers are sometimes wing sexable at hatch. If they were not wing sexed, their fluffy faces make seeing developing wattles almost impossible. Luckily their pea combs can be of some help. 3-week old males will have wider combs with 3 rows of ‘bumps’ visible, the center row being the largest. The rhyme “Three in a row? That bird will crow!” can help you remember that three visible rows of ‘peas’ on a chick’s pea comb likely means male. The young cockerel’s comb will be the watery pink color of light rosé wine. Their feet will be larger and wider, with leg and ankle bones that are visually thicker than a female’s.

This 3.5 week old Easter Egger chick has 3 rows of “peas” or bumps on his comb, which is already showing a blush of pink. He is clearly male. The two outer rows are smaller but quite visible. A female would only have a small center row with smooth sides – no additional rows of peas would be visible.

Americana and Easter Egger cockerels will often develop rust-colored patches on their shoulders around 6 weeks old. Tail feathers will begin to have tips that arch or curve downward around 5 weeks old. Iridescent blue or green colors that develop during month 2 in their pointy ended, arching tail feathers is one of the most obvious clues that the chick is a cockerel.

This 5-month-old Americana rooster illustrates multiple male attributes.