Leghorns, LF and bantams

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valeriebutterley

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Hi everyone,
Three and a half weeks ago I hatched 2 LF white Leghorns, and 5 exchequer bantams. All are healthy and very pretty.
Problem is this... Are the girls the ones developing long thin tails, and the boys the ones with the very neat small tails and round bums?
I shall be really grateful if anyone can help. Sizewise the two LF are much the same, the long tailed one is not so chunky as the round ended one with a small tail. Combs much the same size (promise to be large)!! The bantams are large for baby bantams, 3 with long tails and 2 with rounded ends. They are quite distinctively different, but I cannot find out which is which.
HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
The pullets do tend to have the more pointed tails but not reliable enough to be certain. In a couple of weeks, you should be able to tell by the combs as the ones on the males start to show while those on the females show no movement at all.
 
Chuck, thanks for your input.
Both little (very) LF have got BIG combs for such tinies, the bantams as yet are still undeveloped. One of the ex. bantams I'm sure is a LF as it is as big as the white ones and growing...
Time will tell.
 
Hi Valerie. We have Bantam Brown English Leghorns and the comb on the cockerel is truly massive at 6 months. Their overall shape is the same though, just feather colouring and comb give them away. We haven't bred any of these yet so I can't help with the sexing at the moment, but I don't think you will have long to wait.
 
Hello Chris, and thanks for your input.
Looking closely at the two white LF today, I'm hoping I may be right, and the "sail tails" are the girls, as the round ended one's legs and feet are ominously large, and the long tailed one is much daintier all round. May be points for the future for easy sexing if you are going to breed them?!!!
As this is just my observation, its probably totally wrong, but I'll put it on GCF if it is correct.
 
Hens wing feathers are supposed to develop faster than cocks, but I have never noticed personally. I get too wrapped up in how cute they are , keeping them warm, changing bedding, feeding, watching them play, picking them up and stuff to really notice. Then it seems, all of a sudden, they aren't chicks but little chickens and I'm waiting for eggs.
 
Hens do develop wing feathers very quickly. My granddaughters - 8 and 11 say "it's a girl, got wingies", but not always seems to be true.
Yes, cute is a word I use to describe chicks, also adorable, timewasting, and fascinating to watch and grow. Time not wasted, certainly if you are going to keep them, anyway. I shall keep the white girl of these, and probably a couple of exhequer bantam girls.
 
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