Sexing American Bresse Chickens - Developmental Differences

Going through the ages and seeing how they change.
Feather sexing doesn't always work on them.

[@AllOuttaSpoons]

Excellent video! New to the breed. You’ve confirmed what I’ve been noticing. Thanks for such a great detailed video

[@markchidester6239]

Thanks to some of your previous videos, my first group of 10 birds were very easy to identify. It was obvious. Couldn't do that with the barn yard mix. Then again, this was the first batch of pure bread of all the same breed I've done.

[@bjchris8979]

Thank you for this video. Love how you compare each gender through the different ages. Very helpful.

[@carolavant3778]

Beautiful birds! I bought 10 straight run chicks, to increase my back yard flock (I have two RIR hens) and had them figured out by week three: 6 boys, four girls. They'll be 7 weeks old next Monday. I want to keep one roo, and so far, it's down to two of them.

[@arcadianorchard]

Try to keep a 2nd male, just in case. Unless you know someone nearby that could offer up a replacement if needed. It can be quite the setback if the only male is lost.

[@mikemacinnes6120]

Hey pal my babies hatched. Out of 26 eggs 5 hatched. 1 came out with yolk attached after 3 days trying to nurse it back I lost her or him. My others are so pretty look like yellow cotton balls. I think lady sold me old eggs. Gonna give me more to try again…. Wish I could send you photos and see what your thoughts are. I ordered 10 more from bresse farm In Mississippi see good reviews but I’m gonna be tuff judge I want have strong flock. I got jersey giants black and white… love your content. You taught me a lot.

[@arcadianorchard]

Were the eggs local or shipped? I always check the air cell when I first receive eggs, that gives me a clue on the age of the eggs since it grows with time. It also tells me the condition of the air cell. If they're bubbly/saddled or shifted, then it let's me know they need to be incubated/hatched upright and not on their side. The growth rate should be quite a bit different than what you see in the Jersey Giants. If you do Facebook, there's several helpful groups for the Bresse on there, "American Bresse Chickens" and "American Bresse Breed Club", as well as regional groups to find those who are close to you.

[@agomodern]

Good to know. I was wondering if at time of butcher you could tell the difference.

[@cindyhebberd7352]

Your Bresse seems so calm...mine have been hyper from the get go and have acted like they want absolutely nothing to do with me. They are now 9 weeks old and are as wild as can be. Is this normal for the Bresse breed? Excellent video. Thank you

[@DoubleRFarmsAL]

Once you have you a good breeding stock would you suggest pulling the boys at 4-5 weeks and putting them separate from the ladies and get them ready for freezer camp?

[@arcadianorchard]

Separating them reduces competition and hopefully adds more grow space, giving all of them better odds of gaining their genetic potential. Nutrition will play a large role in that as well. You always want to be on the look out for males that may be better quality than what you have, to make sure those don't accidentally get put in the freezer. Once you have them separated and growing, you can start harvesting when they're large enough for you. Some folks will increase the available square foot per bird by harvesting known culls early, at fryer age (10-12 weeks) For us we grow as many as we can, to find improved breeding stock. The amount of dinner that comes from the effort is a bonus.

[@clc7800]

Great video just in time. I have 23 chicks that are today 2 weeks old...I hope next week I could tell the boys from the girls. For how long do you keep both groups together or is there a time you separate the boys from the girls? Thanks

[@arcadianorchard]

What I normally do is get everyone separated by 8 weeks, then I take my favorite 2 males and keep them with the pullets. Our pullet housing is safer than the free range pasture that "Rooster Coop" has.

[@yellow8755]

Awesome video

[@kristenwarren5403]

Thank you. New to this breed and this helped me decide for sure was sex mine were at 5 weeks. Very informative

[@janiteeter4896]

When do the boys start to crow? If I want to keep only one roo and keep the noise to a MINIMUM is it possible to dispatch them before all the boys start making a whack of noise that will bother the neighbours? I would like to get some size on them but I am not looking for jumbo cornish x type birds either. TY for the great video!

[@arcadianorchard]

Some may start as early as 3-5 weeks old, normal range is closer to 12-14 weeks old. Prime harvest time tends to be 16 weeks, which can vary by bloodline.

[@elenascott081]

When do the legs turn color?

[@meganking4399]

Useful video, great comparison.

[@rebeccaplumlee9601]

So females do get combs & wattles?

[@arcadianorchard]

Eventually. The breed standard wants the female comb to tilt to the side 50% of the way back (so not a full tilt, only the back half) while the male comb should stand upright for the whole length. Once the female comb turns red, they're usually pretty close to laying.

[@Norefils]

Thank you for this! Very helpful

[@cynthiamathieu5862]

Do you have trouble moving the males into the male group if they are late arrivals due to mis sexing?

[@arcadianorchard]

Sometimes. If so, either the one doing the bullying gets processed or the slow maturing one does. I let the flock be the guide on who gets culled. If the whole group turns on one bird, that's them telling me who the cull is.

[@TulipAcres]

Two more weeks and I’ll see if I can figure out how many boys/girls I have!

[@robinlynch]

Great video, thanks!

[@erwinega5490]

how much does your chicken weigh at 8 weeks of age? I want to have chickens at the age of 8 weeks weighing 4 pounds up Do you have any suggestions on what type of chicken cross I should use?

[@arcadianorchard]

The only chicken that can do that is the commercial broiler hybrids, which are not a single cross hybrid. They are a 4 way terminal cross using a trade secret breeding method, so they can only be purchased and not bred from. Some folks try it anyways, though because of the dwarf gene that was added in for shorter bones, the programs tend to fall apart by generation 3 (if not before) once the recessive traits start coming into expression. The value in purebred/standard bred poultry is that you can keep them going indefinitely and without many surprises once their bloodline is stabilized. To start a hybrid experiment, you have to also maintain both parent groups in order to recreate the hybrid, which complicates things more than a single breed. When you breed forward a hybrid project, it's the 3rd-5th generations that will tell you if it was a waste of time or not. The commercial broilers have over 20 generations into their development into what they are now.

[@erwinega5490]

​@@arcadianorchardOk, thank you I always follow your videos. Can you set your video to Indonesian? greetings from Indonesia

[@erwinega5490]

​@@arcadianorchardIs American Bresse and French Bresse different? If I cross one way, Bresse with Broiler and Jersey Giant, will the offspring grow fast?

[@arcadianorchard]

@@erwinega5490 Maybe, you'd have to hatch and see how they did, since it will vary by genetics. I bet the BresseX would grow faster than the JG cross, but the proof would be in the results. The French commercial Bresse of the Bresse region are different than the Gauloise (outside Bresse region) and so it is difficult to know who has what and where. The American Bresse are called that because of what was stipulated with the original importer, to be sure they were not called just Bresse.

[@arcadianorchard]

@@erwinega5490 Maybe? It might be an option for your subtitles.

[@johnmoore2555]

Do you sale baby chicks if so what is the process

[@arcadianorchard]

Our wait list is so steep already that I had to stop adding folks to it. Thank you for your interest.

[@GunClingingPalin]

I have gotten pretty good at vent sexing.. but I have found that some breeds are easier to vent sex than others... Getting me some Bresse and looking forward to sex how easy they vent sex... But either sex Imma keep and eat them all anyhow so waiting to find out sex is not an issue. I got pretty good at sexing them just from the cry they let out when you pick them up.. The females are more of a high pitched cry.. weee-weee-weee-weee-weee-weee with no breaks like they are getting killed trying to get away.. even my full grown hens do it when I grab them unexpectedly and they panic.. where as the males just squawk a few times each squawk spread out a bit from the next. I think you know what I'm talking about.. experiment with that and you will see. Do it on your full sized birds too and see. The roosters sound like a bawk bawk bawk.. 2 or 3 or so and stop... the females weee-weee-weee-weee-weee-weee as chicks and a squawk-squawk-squawk-squawk-squawk-squawk-squawk as they get older. Kind of a scream or yell like they are calling for help or acting like they are getting hurt... Just a much more panicked sound and higher pitched. Again the males a few chirps or squawks and they calm down a bit... hen go on and on and on. The 2 you got there were doing it.. the hen.. listen to that end for end crying out.. that is the sound of a female chick.. and pretty much the same as an adult only a lot louder and squawkier..--- female 4:33 each squawk has a drawn out sound connected end with no apparent break between the next squawk in procession --- male 3:25 male with the sharp ending to each squawk. Though the squawks are close, they are not connected, almost uninterrupted, like the hens. I do have it down. It is quite a bit harder with 1-3 day old's as their vocals are not quite developed, but you can still detect the break in the male's squawk/chirp. See what you think on those notes.

[@khatch62]

I wish I could feel what you're feeling.

[@arcadianorchard]

Felt like chicken! Meaty chicken. I wish it was more visual but it really is a feel.