Ameraucana, a male or female?

[jeemjeem]

Hi all, I have this almost 3 month old Blue Ameraucana and I am guessing it is a male. It was the only breed in my flock that the breeder couldn't tell me the gender of and was wondering if anyone has an idea if it is male or female. My guess is male from looking at some of the other posts out there so maybe you guys can confirm I am right or let me know if it is a female.

Thank you!

 

[kkailily]

I'm pretty new to this, but I think I see a female based on the roundish saddle feathers and pale comb.

 

[bbhorsefly]

That looks like a pullet to me. Do Ameraucanas mature that much slower than EEs because this is what mine looked like at 5-6 weeks not 3 months? So small!

 

[junebuggena]

That's a lot of chick down on the head for a 3 month old bird. Looks more like 6 to 8 weeks old. The darker shade of blue on the wings points to this bird as being a cockerel.

 

[jeemjeem]

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could very well be younger. I have had it for almost three weeks and at the time the breeder said 8-9 weeks. going by that.

 

[jeemjeem]

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definitely don't think its that young. I got it three weeks ago and all the birds i got were 8-9 weeks at that point. but who knows, i can't confirm either way.

 

[junebuggena]

Was it feathered in on the chest yet when you got it? Most breeds feather in at about the same rate as chicks. Under 8 weeks old, you can usually estimate the age give or take a few days. That bird looks to be about 8 weeks old now, judging by the down still on the head and it's size.

 

[DeeBundchen]

My 9.5 week Americauna looks tiny like that too! She's just now losing her fuzz and getting feathers in! I thought something was wrong with her, but she's finally catching up. Mine has no comb or wattle yet, so I'm guessing she is a girl.

 

[bbhorsefly]

Quote:
could very well be younger. I have had it for almost three weeks and at the time the breeder said 8-9 weeks. going by that.

The first batch of chicks I bought, I was told they were "8 weeks old" and I was none the wiser. Until I brought home my second batch of chicks, day olds of the same breed from the same breeder and watched them grow. Looking back at pictures, there is NO way those first chicks were 8 weeks old when I got them. They were 3-3.5 weeks old tops. So I had switched them over to grower feed WAY WAY WAY early and had my expected egg schedule all off. From that experience, I'm taking what sellers say with a grain of salt. Not because I think she was trying to scam me (in fact I've had several more chicken transactions with her!) but just because I think people make honest mistakes. I have a hard time keeping track of the ages of my 17 chickens, so I can't imagine I would do much better hatching hundreds of chicks a season, having five left from that batch, 10 left from that batch, 2 left from that batch....and trying to keep them all straight. Unless I hatch it myself, I'm going to look at feathering and breed specifics from now on to determine age.