The 6th Annual BYC Easter Hatch-a-long!

[Aprildeesunshin]

TRUE or FALSE​

Ok, I know we are all antsy about our chicks! Some of us candle and some do not. For those who do not...all power to you! However when our chicks hatch out, we will want to know if it is a boy or a girl. Some are sexlinks. So as soon as they fluff out or even earlier, we know which sex it is. However there are those chicks that some just cannot tell unless they vent it and I don't want to do that. Hatcheries do not have a choice because time is not on their side with baby chicks. However time is on our side. I did come across another way to know the difference...at least with mine in just 24-48 hours after hatch. Before I give it away, I want to know what you all think. The grand T/F question is...

One can tell the sex of a chick 24-48 hours after it hatches.

​

​

My answer is TRUE!​

You can tell the sex of sexlink chicks and auto sexing chicks on day of hatch. Also some breeds you can feather sex a few days after hatch, but this only works with certain breeds not all breeds. You need to know if you are working with that feather gene within your breeds to know if it will pass along to offspring.

FALSE?????​

Ok, I accept that I failed this test. . I apparently have the feathering gene. These are 4 days old. So the difference is very clear. The ones with longer feathers on their wings are girls. Females grow their wing feathers faster than males.

Girl! We knew this at hatch because she did not have a white spot on her head.

Girl! Feather length is longer than the other yellow fluffy one.

Boy! We knew this at hatch. He had a white spot on his head.

Boy! Wing feathers are shorter than the other yellow fluffy chick.​

 

[Happy Chooks]

Hi @HappyChooks , I am not worried about the air sac, I am more worried about the weight loss from the day of setting. 2 of them have already lost 14%, 1 is at 12 and 4th one has 10% loss by now. So by lockdown, the situation would be even worse.

The one's in half the eggs have the same type of development as in other eggs and are moving albeit in half the egg (vertically half). Maybe something genetic (from the same hen)

Can't help you there, I've never weighed my eggs.

LOL! I had the opposite problem. I had one doctor tell me he recommended induction two weeks early because he didn't want the baby to be able to drive home from the hospital. They all talked about how big the baby was. I ended up delivering a week early because of toxiemia, and my son was 6 lbs. 12 ozs and 21" long. They don't always know.......

Y'all are killing me with all the posts! I'm on BYC every day and there is no way I can keep up on this thread. Someone let me know if I miss something huge. You'll know because I will have not commented on it. I just had to skip more than 400 posts!!

*Jealous* My first was 9 lbs 9 oz. No gestational diabetes and a natural birth.

He's now a 6'3" really skinny 15 year old. My 2nd was 8 lbs 6 oz and I did step aerobics up until the week I delivered. I was determined to NOT have another large baby!

The dust wouldn't have a chance to kill me if I raised chicks in the house, my wife would do the deed immediately.

Same here, my DH would kill me. I already got kicked out of the garage, the well house and all outbuildings. I now brood chicks in a small coop.

 

[ronott1]

FALSE?????​

Ok, I accept that I failed this test.

. I apparently have the feathering gene. These are 4 days old. So the difference is very clear. The ones with longer feathers on their wings are girls. Females grow their wing feathers faster than males.


Girl! We knew this at hatch because she did not have a white spot on her head.



Girl! Feather length is longer than the other yellow fluffy one.



Boy! We knew this at hatch. He had a white spot on his head.



Boy! Wing feathers are shorter than the other yellow fluffy chick.

Correct!

Some breeds have fast feathering males and other have slow feathering females. Often it shows up when breeds are crossed.

Some old but fun information is here:

 

[Cynthia12]

What information do you recommend for vent sexing? I usually can tell at two weeks by wing feathers, but I'm very interested in learning about the vent method. I know it's critical to be gentle or you can kill a chick.

I like this video that shows how.

 

[Cynthia12]

I would have said boy on this one..

And..I would have said girl on this one..

 

[SnowChik]

TRUE or FALSE​

Ok, I know we are all antsy about our chicks! Some of us candle and some do not. For those who do not...all power to you! However when our chicks hatch out, we will want to know if it is a boy or a girl. Some are sexlinks. So as soon as they fluff out or even earlier, we know which sex it is. However there are those chicks that some just cannot tell unless they vent it and I don't want to do that. Hatcheries do not have a choice because time is not on their side with baby chicks. However time is on our side. I did come across another way to know the difference...at least with mine in just 24-48 hours after hatch. Before I give it away, I want to know what you all think. The grand T/F question is...

One can tell the sex of a chick 24-48 hours after it hatches.

My answer is TRUE!​

​

I used to think "false" until my latest hatch when one of my 2-day-old Crevecoeurs started scratching and calling the girls with a mini version of the "Hey ladies, I found good food" call. He is totally all boy. I've been sexing them this time by watching behavior as an experiment...we'll see if I'm right or not...

Now I say "true!"

 

[NotAFarm]

I candled my eggs last night:

The Trader Joe Free Range Organic Eggs (NOT labeled as fertile but thought I'd try them) were not fertile. 12 clears

The four Icelandic eggs I got from a friend's flock are all going strong.

Of the 13 set from my flock, only four are developing......that means my 5 year old rooster is not covering all the hens/pullets he is with (16 total and he is the only male)

or he is aging out

The two silkie eggs are under a broody....need to check those.....

So.......eight Icelandic eggs still in the incubator and two silkie eggs under a broody

Now we wait for the final candling at 17 days.......or when a hen goes broody....whichever comes first!

 

[NikkiCole5]

FALSE?????​

Ok, I accept that I failed this test. . I apparently have the feathering gene. These are 4 days old. So the difference is very clear. The ones with longer feathers on their wings are girls. Females grow their wing feathers faster than males.

Girl! We knew this at hatch because she did not have a white spot on her head.

Girl! Feather length is longer than the other yellow fluffy one.

Boy! We knew this at hatch. He had a white spot on his head.

Boy! Wing feathers are shorter than the other yellow fluffy chick.

Uh oh, the white spot on the head of a Barred Rock means male? I'm not suppose to have another male :-\

 

[wornoutmomto3]

If you haven't entered yet, Brinsea is giving away an incubator. You only have until March 27 to enter.
http://bit.ly/1bv0tUX

 

[SimplyLogan]

Just checked my eggs. So far only 2 quitters, after round two. One i was sure that moved but not hardly any thing looking like vessels. Waiting that one out. I have been dry incubating but this last week, I have hardly gained any air space. Putting rice in the incubator

. My humidity has been sitting about 34%, but week one there was a nice and appropriate cell growth. Some this week appear to have hardly any.