incubation question please

[dye29]

hi guys ive just hatched 2 bantams this morning but the other 5 eggs havnt done much yet can i keep the chicks in 2 days or only 24 hrs as i would like to see if the other eggs hatch by tommorow night

 

[3441sussex]

If the 2 chicks are active and dry move them to the brooder now and leave the other 5 eggs in the incubator for a couple more days to give them a chance to hatch.

 

[dye29]

ive left until today at 6pm and there were 3 so i shall leave eggs another 2 days there doesnt look like any pipping are there likely to be later ones

 

[dye29]

when can you sex a bantam

 

[Minorcafan]

Depends on the breed.

 

[dye29]

light sussex bantam

 

[Minorcafan]

Around 10 weeks the cock's comb will be more pronounced and you should see sickle feathers

 

[MrsBiscuit]

In my experience of sexing Sussex (not LS specifically tho) the females feather up quicker. So, their tails will feather up along with their shoulders and wings, and be more developed than boys of the same age. You should see this start happening around 2 weeks as first feathers come through. For the next month or so the girls will be further forward in the feather department, most noticeably in the tail, shoulder, then wing and breast. Then the boys will start to get bigger, stronger, with longer legs and combs beginning to be a bit more obvious. By 8-10 weeks it is usually quite obvious who is who, but not in all cases especially if you have a hatch which turns out to be the same sex! Thereafter you will start to get sickle feathers and combs continuing to grow on the boys. Neck hackles are meant to be pointy on boys and rounded on pullets but I am not very good at distinguishing them. And unofficially (is not in the least bit scientific) if it's got big feet it's a boy

 

[valeriebutterley]

With my recent hatchlings I have done the wing feather test, and it seems to work. Girls have two sets of feathers on their wings, whilst boys have just a line of feathers.
This can be done at about 2 days old and onwards.
There is loads of info about it to read up, also pictures and/or drawings which seem to illustrate it better. I did read it does not work for Pekins, thought, don't know why they are different, but I have used the method on all my latest chicks, and it does seem pretty infallable.
Used it to sex my RIRs, and have three gorgeous girls growing on, also on some more "Glorias" - Barred Plymouth rock, and it worked on them too.
the boys are now (not dealt with yet) very different from the girls in colouring.