Cute chicks...male or female? *3 week update* (again)

[steffpeck]

CUTE Chicks!!!! Great pictures also, what camera did you use??

 

[gritsar]

What I'm looking at is not their combs, it's their shoulders (wing bows)!
#1 and #2 seem to have real bare wing bows. That was the very first thing I could pick out on my baby roosters.
By the way, I used the UC Davis Veterinary Care Program information to correctly identify five out of five cockerels in my flock.

 

[mikarod]

Why would you look at the beaks???

I'm using my tried-and-true method. If I told ya'll how I did it I wouldn't be paid chick sexer would I?! LOL! Ya'll would steal my daggum job!

Been doing it for 17 years. Gotta be doing SOMETHING right! lol

 

[gritsar]

It's 11:00 at night, I'm very tired. I said beaks when I meant combs. I think it's alot of fun to try and pick the baby roos out. In my case I had to do it. Although I ordered sexed chicks, the sexers didn't do such a fabulous job. I order two, got five.

 

[mikarod]

Ugh...I HATE it when the sexers don't look properly. Sometimes I wonder how on earth they manage to keep their jobs at the hatcheries...

Try looking broader than the comb...go for breed characteristics...shape of the head compared to the body, comb structure, facial features, then look at the rest of the body. True, you have to do it fairly quickly since it is fast paced, but you definitely get used to it fast.

 

[Andora]

I took pictures tonight so that you can see their legs and backs better. I woke them up to take pictures and they weren't happy, they were so sleepy!

Which part is the wing bow? I was looking closer at the wings and it seems like #'s 1 and 2 both have wings with feathers that are more sparse, while #3 and #4 have fully feathered out wings already. Their necks are different too, some of them have a lot of missing feathers on their necks, they look so goofy when they're standing tall during the day looking around. I tried to figure out a difference in coloring on their combs, but I couldn't tell and I almost got pecked in the eye.

My toddler thought that was hilarious. I did notice that on some of them the teeth (?) on the comb are larger while on other chicks the comb has smaller teeth that are closer together and more evenly sized.

Is there some way to sex chicks based on feathers right next to their vent hole? Awhile ago I saw a video on YouTube of a huge chicken plant, and it showed workers flipping just hatched chicks upside down and checking their bums for something. I tried to take a good look at mine, but I couldn't figure anything out and now my toddler keeps trying to flip them over to look at where their poo comes from every time I turn around. LOL.

Here are some pictures...
(They aren't in the same order as in the above post as far as I can tell...just FYI.)

1.

2.

3.

4.

(This one was cuddled up with its head tucked under its wing! The first chick to do that. I felt bad disturbing her.)

5.

6.

 

[Andora]

Quote:
Thanks! I have a Canon Digital Rebel. It's the lenses that make all the difference though! On the first two sets of pictures I used a 50mm lens and on these last ones the 85mm lens was on the camera...

 

[mikarod]

1 and 2 are cockerels and 3 is difficult to tell at the angle. The rest look like pullets to me.

They are "vent sexing" the chicks. Males and females have specific body parts that allow in the "cloacal kiss" that causes fertilization. They are looking for the male parts. If there no male part...female! That's where it gets confusing because some males may have very um..small...male parts so they are sexed as females.

 

[Andora]

That's what I thought too, 1 and 2 are definitely roos. I'm hoping #3 is a pullet! I can't tell at all because the comb is bigger than #4 (the bird in general is larger) and the wing feathers are in between. That one is a mystery...I guess time will tell. The buff orps are a bit younger but they seem to be feathering out evenly in the wings, not like the #1 and #2. That's a good sign isn't it?

I'm going to google search vent sexing!

 

[Andora]

This article explained a lot, if anyone else is interested.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1974-05-01/How-to-Sex-Day-Old-Chicks.aspx