The following Meyer Hatchery breeds are sex-linked or autosexing:
- Golden Buff: At hatch, males are light yellow, and females are reddish golden. We rarely see sexing errors on GBUF because they are so easily identifiable at hatch.
- Cream Legbar: Males are lighter at hatch and usually lack “chipmunk” striping. After a week or two of age, they develop barring. Females are darker at hatch and have stripes.
- Dominique and Barred Rock: This one is a bit trickier to sort out. An overhead view of the male and female chicks side by side is helpful. Both genders will have white spots on the back of the head, but males' spots will be more diffuse, and the females’ spots will have more well-defined borders.
- Bielefelder: Males usually have a small light spot on the back of their head. Female chicks are overall darker than male chicks. Female chicks have eye stripes. As they age, males will show barring.
- Rhode Island Red: Females are solid red and the males are lighter overall and have light-colored wings and chests.
- Blue Sex-Linked Bantam Easter Egger: Male chicks have a light dot on the top of the head and are a lighter shade of blue overall. Females are slightly darker overall, with no spot on the head.
While not sex-linked or autosexing, Salmon and Wheaten colors are easy to gender around 3 weeks of age:
- Salmon Faverolle: They will look the same at hatch, but by around 2-3 weeks of age, the males will usually develop darker brown to black feathers, while the females will grow lighter brown to buff-colored feathers.
- Wheaten Marans: Similar to Salmon Faverolle above. Chicks at hatch look similar, but by 3 weeks, males are developing dark brown to black feathers, while the females are lighter brown to buff-colored. No sexing refunds before 3 weeks of age.
- Wheaten Olive Eggers: Similar to Salmon Faverolle above. Chicks at hatch look similar, but by 3 weeks, males are developing dark brown to black feathers, while the females are lighter brown to buff-colored.
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