Accuracy of sexed chicks?

[ES4me]

Not sure where to put this question! I picked up 5 Wyandotte chicks from the 'Pullets' bin since they were the only Wyandottes available. I was hoping for straight run since I'm finally ready to add a roo to my flock. They claim a 90% success rate-is this likely? I don't want to get my hopes up too much.
Pic added for fun...

 

[Egghead_Jr]

There is very little chance of a cockerel in a sexed pullet bin. They are far more accurate than 90% at vent sexing. The disclaimer is to cover small orders. Sample size if everything in statistics. If one of a hundred is sexed wrong but is sent in an order of ten then suddenly that 99% accuracy is destroyed and a persons order was only 90% pullets. See what I mean? Sample size is everything and that 90% disclaimer is for liability reasons only.

There are horror stories of feed store bins with missmarked bins and consolidating without relabeling and all manner of poor management of ordered chicks. Stories of this kind are not due to hatchery mistakes rather the uneducated dealings of the retailer. If you purchased your chicks from a good feed store there is almost no chance of a cockerel from a pullet bin.

 

[feedman77]

If you want to almost be guaranteed a roo.

Look in the pan fry special bin. That is just supposed to be excess roos.

 

[donrae]

The good news is, roosters are easy enough to pick up. If you didn't get your own Oops, it's likely someone in your area did. Wait a few months and put an ad on CL in the farm and garden section, wanting a rooster. Folks that can't keep one will be thrilled to have a "keeper" home for their bird rather than a stewpot home.

 

[ES4me]

The good news is, roosters are easy enough to pick up. If you didn't get your own Oops, it's likely someone in your area did. Wait a few months and put an ad on CL in the farm and garden section, wanting a rooster. Folks that can't keep one will be thrilled to have a "keeper" home for their bird rather than a stewpot home.

I'm really hoping that's the case!

 

[lazy gardener]

Some places that carry chicks are more prone to having a higher percentage of roos in their bins than others. But, DR makes a very valid point. The only time I'd purposefully get a roo chick is if I was wanting a specific breed, or keeping a closed flock.

 

[LA in GA]

It's entirely possible. We ordered 24 chicks a few years ago, 2 of which were to be roosters (one for us, one for a neighbor who was taking 8 of the chicks to start a new flock) from Murray McMurray. They sent us 30 chicks total, which would have been fine except all 6 "excess" chicks plus one that was to have been a pullet were all roo's. This was really a bummer, as one of the surprise roosters was a Black Australorp, which we had specifically ordered 2 pullets, so we ended up with only one pullet from that group. When I called they were very dismissive, unwilling to refund the fee for the now useless chick or even credit a future order. That bird ended up being a rooster who was the first flogger we ever had. One of the extra roosters also ended up being a rooster with a penchant for attacking anyone in the yard with him, so both were re-purposed. But the BA was the worst from a very young age. The other four (one died the first day=7 cockerels) ended up being nice roo's, including the "mystery chick" which we never were able to determine what breed he was.

 

[ES4me]

If you want to almost be guaranteed a roo.

Look in the pan fry special bin. That is just supposed to be excess roos.

I am calling tomorrow to ask them to check-is it remotely possible that there would be one in the breed I want? Or are they typically just meat cockerels?

 

[keesmom]

The fry pan bin will not have any of the faster growing meat types (Cornish X, black or red broilers, Pioneers, etc). It will consist of excess cockerels of the layer breeds. Red/black sex link, RIR, Rocks, Orpingtons, Wyandottes and so on.

 

[ES4me]

The fry pan bin will not have any of the faster growing meat types (Cornish X, black or red broilers, Pioneers, etc). It will consist of excess cockerels of the layer breeds. Red/black sex link, RIR, Rocks, Orpingtons, Wyandottes and so on.

Awesome. I know what I'm doing tomorrow...