Buff Orpington chicks

Meowrissa

Hatching
May 17, 2020
9
7
8
I’m getting chicks today at a local hatchery and was wondering how you can tell the difference between a roo or a hen when they’re 2 days old?
 
It's a bit tricky to sex chicks who are that young, because to the untrained eye they do look very similar. But here are some helpful tips I found on the net that may help.

First, if you're able to handle your chicks with confidence, check out their wings. Cockerels tend to have a "straight wing'' - that is, their wing curves in a single direction. Pullets, however, bear "two-curve'' wings. It's a bit difficult to phrase propetly, so here's an ingographic, courtesy of Chicken Scratch
View attachment 2174692

Another way, apparently, is checking posture. This can be pretty difficult, since different breeds & different individuals differ vastly in postre. My EF, Rex, has a more upright posture than the other birds, even as a chick.

Anywho, this method proposes that roosters, as alluded to above, tend to have a more upright posture, whereas hens have a more horizontal posture. Here's a visual provided by The Happy Chicken Coop
View attachment 2174701

Finally, there's also behavioural differences - IE, roosters tend to be more bold and will walk up to you when you have feed, as opposed to skittish hens who tend to run away (if we're talking about very young birds; they may become bolder as you interact with them).

Of course, there's always vent-checking. Ideally, you should be very confident in your ability to check the bird without hurting him/her (chicks are very fragile!). This is the method most hatcheries use to determine sexes of their birds.

Congrats on your new chickies! Keep us posted
Thank you so much for your help! I will definitely do that when I meet them! I’ll post pictures for you guys once I get them in!
 
I have them too, and everything I read said you can't tell until they are older. But they are beautiful birds.
 
i have 3 buff orps...they are sooo sweet...all hens, had a roos, but rehomed him...he was beautiful and quite large
Ya I went to my local hatchery and picked up 6 barred rocks and 2 out of 6 were Roos. They said they won’t take them back and have a 90% rate of accuracy but it’s like 🤷🏻‍♀️ That was 2/6 how is that 90%?? Lol anyways they said they’re going to give me 2 buff Orpingtons for free, but I want to be accurate with the two I get.
 
It's a bit tricky to sex chicks who are that young, because to the untrained eye they do look very similar. But here are some helpful tips I found on the net that may help.

First, if you're able to handle your chicks with confidence, check out their wings. Cockerels tend to have a "straight wing'' - that is, their wing curves in a single direction. Pullets, however, bear "two-curve'' wings. It's a bit difficult to phrase propetly, so here's an ingographic, courtesy of Chicken Scratch
1591199599588.png


Another way, apparently, is checking posture. This can be pretty difficult, since different breeds & different individuals differ vastly in postre. My EF, Rex, has a more upright posture than the other birds, even as a chick.

Anywho, this method proposes that roosters, as alluded to above, tend to have a more upright posture, whereas hens have a more horizontal posture. Here's a visual provided by The Happy Chicken Coop
1591199880601.png


Finally, there's also behavioural differences - IE, roosters tend to be more bold and will walk up to you when you have feed, as opposed to skittish hens who tend to run away (if we're talking about very young birds; they may become bolder as you interact with them).

Of course, there's always vent-checking. Ideally, you should be very confident in your ability to check the bird without hurting him/her (chicks are very fragile!). This is the method most hatcheries use to determine sexes of their birds.

Congrats on your new chickies! Keep us posted
 

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