I may be setting myself up to being served a giant piece of crow pie in the next few weeks, but I’m still going to go with the prediction that Violet is a girl.
First there were the sexing by tiny wing feathers which although difficult to see, I made the determination that they looked more like a female’s (uneven feathers) than a male’s (even feathers.)
Now, I have additional information based more on my experiences with chickens than anything else.
First, when violet is resting, she stands more horizontally than vertically. I’ve found that this is the typical stance for a pullet as opposed to a cockerel. The boys tend to be more upright, their chests thrust forward, while the girls, tend to be lower to the ground and steadier.
Also, there are her legs. The boys tend to have very thick legs, so thick that they catch your attention. And while it’s a little difficult to make any kind of comparison when you only have a single chick, when I look at Violet’s legs, I don’t immediately think that they are overly large or thick.
Nope, to me they just look like a chicken’s leg (that happens to have feathers sprouting out of the sides.)
Lastly, Violet’s bum feathers have popped out, and while to many this might make her look more male than female, in the fast feathering females, the tail feathers come out quickly and then slow down. With the males, the feathers take longer to emerge but when they do, look out.
So I’m still going to go with female, but I’ve ordered that pie, just in case.
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
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