Autosexed breeds.

[Joshua G]

What chicken breeds can be autosexed as chicks?
Thanks.

 

[WooingWyandotte]

Ok, the gloves come off for this one.

Two different ways to sex, basically. Feather sexing (which I have found to not be very accurate), or vent sexing.

I believe hatcheries can feather sex both bantams and standards, while vent sexing is only for standard sizes. If you're curious about the different methods, there are some great youtube videos on it.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

What chicken breeds can be autosexed as chicks?
Thanks.

"Crele" patterns are the easiest, followed by barred and cuckoo. It is said that Welsummers can be sexed by appearance at hatch, but I haven't figured that one out. I have also heard that there are some old lines of Rhode Island Red that can be autosexed. In barred birds and these others, autosexing traits is something that can be bred for to improve its reliability. (And on the flip side may be nearly completely lost if not maintained in a line.)

Then there's a whole host of breeds that utilize barring on a wildtype-colored bird to create auto-sexing utility breeds, like the Legbar, the Rhodebar, the Welbar, the Hampbar, etc.

You can also cross two breeds for various sex-links which work in the first generation but do not breed true.