[nuzuki]

I have some newly hatched chicks that are half light sussex and half cuckoo maran. Will I be able to auto sex this lot? I read a little while back I could do it with barred breeds but not sure if I can do it with these as they are hybrid. Pics to follow later...

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks

[joyfull]

pure cuckoo Marans can be sexed when the start to get their true feathers - but I cant remember if it is the male or female which has the most barring (and I usually get it the wrong way round) however not sure you can with you two breeds together.

[darkbrowneggs]

Are both of your breed pure, or are they commecial light sussex hybird types, and cuckoo maran/speckledy types?  Also which was the male light sussex or marans?

[nuzuki]

Thanks for the replies. As far as im aware they are pure breeds. Light sussex male and cuckoo maran female

Heres an old pic, they've aged since


 

[nuzuki]

Merry Christmas everyone

Heres another pic of the father


Pics of the chicks




Unfortnately one of the chicks had a prolapse when born and died this afternoon.

The splodges/marks on the head show the possibility of auto sexing but I dont have enough experience to pass judgement.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks

[darkbrowneggs]

Hi and Happy Christmas. 

If the eggs came from the hens which are in the last photo with the grown cockerel then they pretty well all look like crossbreeds of some description so it will not be possible to sex them accurately as you will not know the make up of the individual birds

The theory is that the pullets should take after the father and the males after the mother.  So on that premise the yellow ones are more likely Sussex type and the darker ones  Cuckoo.  But unless you are certain of the breeding, which you never can be unless you purchase from an established and careful poultry breeder,  then it would be best to wait until the head furniture begins to arrive.  Just keep an eye out for faster development of wattles, but there again with parents of potentially mixed breeding this is more tenuous. 

Do you just want to cull the males as quickly as possible to save on feed costs, (with only four chicks the cost of the heater will outweigh the cost of the feed)  or if not what is the desired aim of this particular breeding programme?

[nuzuki]

Thanks for the reply darkbrowneggs

The main purpose of the breeding is to raise the number of birds in our flock. I shall be breeding light sussex and rhode island reds at a later stage but this was really a mess about prior to that. Basically you got it in one, its all about saving on feed costs, we pay roughly £6 to £8 for 20kg of feed and the cockerals seem to spend lots more time by the feeder than the hens.

Does anyone know what you can do with a 6-8week old cockerel that has been eating chick crumb? Im guessing you cant eat it due to the chemicals in the chick crumb and killing and binning it would be a waste of feed. A lady I bought some eggs from said she sells them to the french 

Alas, I know no french people 

 

[darkbrowneggs]

If your chick crumb contains coccidiostat then I think not, but you could maybe put them on straight wheat and a bit of free range for another few weeks.  

I keep mine for around 24 weeks for a 2 kilo  bird, but a younger one would be much smaller