sexing chicks

A topic that comes alot around here! With Straight Run chicks, you are forced to wait it out. Sometimes you'll know in a couple weeks, sometimes not for a couple months, or until the boys start crowing! With mine, it was roughly 5 weeks until I was fairly certain who was who.

Things to watch for: early red and large comb development could indicate a roo. By a few weeks old, a size difference between boys and girls can be seen. Watch the feathering on your breeds. You can go to these sites to see the feathering and colorations of your breeds in adults and chicks. As their colors change, you can pick out the boys from the girls a little easier.

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Rocks/BRKRocks.html#BRockChik

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Reds/BRKRIR.html#RIRChik

Things that boys AND girls do that dont tell sex either way but are old "wives tales" to telling the roos from the hens: bumping chests, posturing, fluffed out neck feathers, mock mounting, strutting, scratching, roosting....you get the idea.

If you purchased them through a hatchery, most hatcheries tell you to expect a 90% accuracy with sexing. Depending on how many you ordered, you could get a roo or two in the bunch, or you may be lucky enough to have just all pullets.

If you purchased through a feed store, I hear they are sometimes less accurate with their sexing, so you could get a few roos there too, or not.

Otherwise, I would just watch for any changes in one of them that you dont see in the others, like a larger, more red comb when the others have smaller, more yellow combs.

4h mom- at what age should you start to see a red comb?

Ok, with Barred Rocks, it's usually easier. The males have wider white barring, making them appear more silvery-gray than black and at a few days old, the headspots are usually much larger, splotchier, than the females. This isn't always 100% accurate because I have a pullet that is laying who looks pretty much like a cockerel in her wide barring. I knew my RIR male by 5 weeks from the larger and thicker legs and larger comb and wattle area. They do start to pinken up a little even that young. By 5 weeks, my Barred Rock boys had HUGE pink combs already!
Here is a 5 week old RIR cockerel then the pullet,his sister:


I sold the cockerel, but this is the RIR pullet now:

Great looking chicks speckled!

equine chick...by 5 weeks you should see pinking or reddening of the comb on the boys in MOST breeds.

Ok, so if this works I should have a majority of hens, lol, but , at the farm store where I got my chicks:jumpy  the guy told me that if you pick a chick up with two fingers by the neck, the hens will draw their legs up to their body and the roosters legs will dangle????   So the ones I got drew their legs up should be hens????    Give it a try and let me know the accuracy!!!!!