3 Sexing methods all have the same results! PICS ADDED!!!

[vetgirl00us]

I used to have a hen that crowed and she was pretty good at it too! LOL

 

[Harrietsmum]

Quote:
Problem is that my Mum had a bantam that used to crow and lay eggs!

 

[schmism]

wait untill about 6-8 weeks and roos have nice tall 1/2" combs and hens have little bumpy ridges.... (except for those darn EE pea combs)

 

[StormyMoon]

Quote:
LOL Your evil, i bet someone would see this and try it haha

 

[LilPeeps]

Unfortunately none of the methods mentioned in the OP are accurate. The only exception would be the feather sexing, which only works when the chicks are the product of a homozygous fast feathering male over a slow feathering female. Unless you know for sure what the genotype of the parents were, you cannot be certain that this method will be effective.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Agreed. The most accurate way to sex chicks not bred to be feather sexed is to wait until four to six weeks when the secondary sex characteristics start to show up and go from there.
Vent sexing is an art and takes years of training. It's not something you can learn from reading a book or watching a video on youtube.
I will see if I can find you the guidelines on sexing at 4 to 6 weeks weeks and post it here.
Here it is:

according to UC Davis Veterinary Care Program.
2. Physical Characteristics (4-6 weeks of age)
a. Comb – The cockerels comb is medium size and pinkish, the pullets is small and yellowish.
b. Legs – The cockerel’s legs are sturdy and long, the pullets are finer and shorter.
c. Tail – The cockerel’s tail is stumpy and curved, the pullets is longer and straight.
d. Back – The cockerel has a thin line of stub feathers down the center of his back, the pullet has more advanced feathering along the center of her back.
e. Side of neck, flank and crop – The feathering in the cockerel in these areas is poorly advanced, the pullets feathering in these areas is well advanced.
f. Wing bows – In the cockerel the wing bows are bare, in pullets the wing bows are covered with small feathers.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

Quote:
That is probably the most reliable method, but it poses a problem for city folks with children.


I have four straight run Delaware chicks, three and one half weeks old at present. I really NEED to figure out who is male and who is female, because legally we are not supposed to have any roosters. We actually have two roosters right now, but at least up to now, nobody has complained about it so we've gotten away with it. But we just cannot keep another rooster, or we're likely to have the authorities come down on us and make us get rid of ALL our roosters.


The problem with waiting until they crow is that -- by that time -- the family is attached to the birds. Right now, if I can sex these chicks, I can return the males to the lady who sold them to me without problem, because we are not too attached to the individual bird.


But we are already getting attached to them, and if we have to wait until they are 12 weeks plus, it is going to be very difficult to get rid of the cockerels by that point. And frankly, I'm not sure that the lady we got these birds from will be willing to take back a chick that age. The older the cockerel gets before the transfer, the more difficult it is to merge them into another flock.

 

[mrbstephens]

Here they are! I've changed my answer to 2 boys and two girls!

Please notice how different the 2 EEs look. They are from the same parents!

All crossed with a Partridge Rock rooster:

EE girl? "Sweety"

EE boy? (from the same hen!) "Teddy"

RIR girl? "Billina"

LB (but looks buff!) boy? "Andrew"

 

[Ms. Cluckingly]

I have no idea, but they sure are adorable!!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Many cockerel chicks will start to show more pinkish/reddish color in their combs by 3-4 weeks. A few weeks later many of them will begin to sprout little reddish wattles under their chins, they look like teenage boys growing their first beards. Many cockerels will have thicker hocks showing at 4-5 weeks. At around 9-10 weeks you can start looking for those thin pointy feathers to sprout at the back of their necks & at the base of their tails. Part the feathers in those places & look for the new feathers growing in. Young cockerels will also begin to get a more metallic gleam to their tail feathers. You should be able to tell the gender of most chickens before they begin to crow, but there are always a few who will keep you guessing up to the last minute.

Even with sexed chicks from a reliable hatchery, you should never assume the sex of a chick until these secondary sex characteristics begin to show. Resist the temptation to name them, personalize their Christmas stockings, or let yourself get too terribly attatched to them. You can certainly enjoy their fuzzy chickie cuteness, hold, play with & pet them, and give them all the best of care. But remember to say things like "If this turns out to be a hen we can keep, we'll name her..." and then wait until you're sure.

We hatch out a lot of our own mixed-breed chicks under our broody hens. The children & I enjoy watching the hatchlings emerge & grow, and it's interesting to see how soon we can guess the sexes. But we don't let ourselves get attatched to every one, even the pullets are intended to be sold to other folks for laying hens, and the cockerels are grown out for the table. Occasionally we'll keep an extra-special bird, but otherwise we've learned to enjoy them while they're here.