do male chicks have shorter wings at first???

[PurplePoppiPpl]

i thought i read some where that males will have slower wing growth, and i just noticed that some of my week olds have way shorter wing feathers so far...

 

[Jferlisi]

i thought i read some where that males will have slower wing growth, and i just noticed that some of my week olds have way shorter wing feathers so far...

No, i believe it meditereanian (sp) breeds the males have slower feathering rate to the females. Not all breeds do. Its called feather sexing.

 

[Pele]

Agreed, you can only rely on that if the line of birds you bought from has been bred that way. (it's like breeding for a certain color, foot, etc, all genetic). In many breeds, primary feathers grow the same on females and males.

However, in most breeds, males DO have a tendency to be slower on feathering all over than the females. It's not a perfect rule, but it is a definite pattern. It's most obvious in the tail during their first week. Males tend to hold off on growing their tails until week 2 or 3. Females will start in on it right away.