Calling all RIR owners, please

[nutz4critters]

I was looking at some of my 10 day old RI red chicks and noticed that some of the chicks have deep red or mahogany colored tips on the beaks and a couple have solid golden tan beaks.

According to the old wives' tale of sexing that my dad used, the solid colored beaks belong to females. The technique of sexing to which I refer is to hold the chicks carefully by their middle toes and see if it flies up to your hand or just hangs down or flies up then hangs down.

I don't try to hurt the chicks, btw. As soon as I let them go, they run off then run right back, especially if I have feed.

So... Have any of you noticed a difference in beack coloring and it's relation to gender? Was it just a fluke in my case? The RI reds I'm looking at were packing peanuts and I was told they were most likely going to be all roosters, although some pullets could be included.

 

[silkiechicken]

Haven't had that correlation with the RIRs I've had. Only thing I see is a bleaching of the beaks and legs after the girls have been laying for an extended amount of time.

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I've raised RIRs and never heard that either...by 4 weeks RIRs are easy to sex...cockerals big red combs and wattles

 

[gumpsgirl]

I never noticed any difference in the color of the beaks in relation to the sex of the chick. I had two or three with pink beaks and the other 9 or ten had the colored beaks. My chicks are now 4 weeks old and I can tell the roos from the pullets. I have 8 roos out of the twelve.

I wouldn't count on the beak technique!

 

[rooster-red]

This is a myth.

 

[NYREDS]

Quote:
Also an excellent way to cause lung damage in the bird. Never carry a chicken upside down by the legs unless you're on the way to the chopping block.