Sexing?

[WVPrincess304]

When can you get an idea of what sex chicks are?

 

[Bertram]

I knew by 3-5 weeks. It depends on the breed though.

 

[Party_Chicken]

Most people start at 6 weeks but I like to draw guesses based on personality earlier.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It depends some on the chicks. A very few are autosexing, you can tell at hatch. Some are set up for sexing at hatch by their parent's genetics. A few are notoriously hard, Silkies for example. A lot start showing sexual characteristics around 5 weeks. It is kind of a hard question to answer with accuracy.

Often by 5 weeks, the boys have larger combs and wattles and those turn red as opposed to pink or yellow. Boys tend to have thicker or longer legs and are more likely to have an upright posture. Body shape can possibly be a clue. So if you can send a photo around 5 weeks with a close-up of the head showing size and color of the comb and wattles and a second photo showing kegs and profile, we can often make a pretty good guess.

After a juvenile molt, usually around 12 weeks, the saddle and hackle feathers come in. These are sharp for a boy and rounded for a girl.

Some are actually pretty easy but some can remain a challenge for months.

 

[WVPrincess304]

This are my chicks. I can get better pictures after work if needed. They're roughly 5 weeks old here.

 

[Ridgerunner]

1 & 2 - If those are Golden Comets they are red sex link chicks. Since they are red, they are female.

3 - I get mixed feelings on this one. The size of the comb says boy and I think I can see wattles starting. But the color of the comb and wattles, the skinny legs, and posture say girl.

4 - Also mixed feelings. The size of the comb and the size of the legs say it could be a boy and that's the way I'd guess, but I would not be shocked to see this one is a girl.

5 - The comb size, posture, and legs say boy to me.

6 - Comb, posture, and body shape say girl.

I could be wrong so don't do anything dramatic yet. It will be interesting to see what others think.

 

[WVPrincess304]

3

1 & 2 - If those are Golden Comets they are red sex link chicks. Since they are red, they are female.

3 - I get mixed feelings on this one. The size of the comb says boy and I think I can see wattles starting. But the color of the comb and wattles, the skinny legs, and posture say girl.

4 - Also mixed feelings. The size of the comb and the size of the legs say it could be a boy and that's the way I'd guess, but I would not be shocked to see this one is a girl.

5 - The comb size, posture, and legs say boy to me.

6 - Comb, posture, and body shape say girl.

I could be wrong so don't do anything dramatic yet. It will be interesting to see what others think.

3, 4, and 5 are also the ones I had my concerns over lol.

 

[mcard]

How did the sexing of chicks work out?