Ever hear of this?

[aceintoledo]

When I was looking at chicks at the TSC last march I was debating to get a RIR because the bin was straight run and I didn't want to deal with having to find a home for a rooster. While standing there an employee asked if I needed any help and after explaining my concerns about wanting a RIR but not wanting to take the chance on it being a rooster he told me this. He was working one day and a farmer came in who happened to be just a few years younger than dirt and told this employee that if you pick a baby chick up by the back of its neck and it calms down in a second its a hen but if it continues to kick its feet its a rooster. Amazed by this story I had the employee begin to pick up chicks out of the straight run bin and sure enough they reacted just as the farmer said. I took a chance and got one of my six from that bin and sure enough it calmed down right away when he picked it up and it turned out to be a hen. Now I know it was only one chick and it could have just been luck but I was wondering if anyone else has ever heard of this?

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Heard of it.

Don't believe it's ever going to come out to more than 50% right.

About the same as closing your eyes and just grabbing them. And I've hatched out thousands of chicks. It would be nice if it was that easy.

Glad you wound up with a hen.

 

[leadwolf1]

Heard of it.

Don't believe it's ever going to come out to more than 50% right.

About the same as closing your eyes and just grabbing them. And I've hatched out thousands of chicks. It would be nice if it was that easy.

Glad you wound up with a hen.

X2

 

[ChickenExtreme]

X2

X 3 Did that with 20 New Hampshires, should have been about half and half, turns out I had all cockerels, and to this day, I still have 7 to get rid of, lol And they was sold to me as straight run, and Iv'e been studying my heart out on chickens since

 

[TexasLady]

Never heard of it, but maybe it has a time limitation. I would imagine any chicken would start struggling again after a few seconds. So maybe if a person does it for only five seconds, it works.

Although many folks say it isn't true, I've tested it and tried it, and I find that long eggs are roosters and round eggs are hens. I've hatched out (not thousands but) a lot of eggs, and it holds true. If I can't tell, it is often a rooster.

This year, I wanted a replacement roo (mine is getting old, acts like he doesn't feel well, doesn't seem to eat well, and I don't anticipate he will last the winter). So I incubated a few of the long eggs (I think two or three), and both those that hatched are roos. One is really nice, and the other is kind of big and lanky (and both are colored coded roos).

It works for me. I'm not saying that it works for everyone, and there are little pieces of information that make it hard to determine on some eggs, but I really can sort eggs and get about 80% hens (and then there are those odd ones that are semi-round/long I usually keep hoping they are hens, and they're roosters.) This has me thinking though: I wonder if I didn't include the long ones maybe I might get 90-95% hens. Problem is that it seems to me that the eggs are about 30% round (hens), 30% odds (mostly roos), and 40% longs (roos). I suppose that makes sense. More males would be needed so that those that were lost fighting would not devastate the entire population of males.

 

[Chambertin]

Interesting stuff.
Sexing chicks is always a good topic to talk about. I keep asking the birds, but they never tell me.
Plus after they heard what happens to Roos, I dont think they ever will.

 

[ChickenPeep]

I have heard that when you pick a chick up and let it's feet dangle, if it calms down it's a rooster, but if it kicks it's a hen. Don't believe it though, it doesn't work like that.

 

[Red Barn Farms]

I've always heard if you pick up a chick by it's neck and it's legs stay down its a cockerel, hold its legs up against it's body you have a pullet.

Pick up a young chick by the center of it's body using both your hands. Now 'dip' the chick in a back and forth motion head to tail. If it is a female the tail feathers will spread apart. If it is a male he will hold his tail feathers together.

Take a needle attached to a thread and dangle it over the chick. If the needle goes around and around it's a female. If the needle sways back and fourth its a male.

If you hold a chick by both it's legs a male will hold its neck up straight looking around. The female will hold her neck and head down and show no interest.

Wave a hat over the brooder. Those which squat down are female and thodse standing up looking alert will be males

Lay the chick on it's back in the palm of your hand, If it just lays there it's a female, if it kicks trying to get up it's a male.

Editing to add:

Pick up a young chick by the center of it's body using both your hands. Now 'dip' the chick in a back and forth motion head to tail. If it is a female the tail feathers will spread apart. If it is a male he will hold his tail feathers together.

I tried this on my four small Blk Copper Marans which I know I have three females and one male. This actually did work!!

 

[galanie]

I've heard all these funny folks ways to tell boys from girls. To be honest, the hat waving sounds like it has the most promise. After all, boy chickens tend to be more "brave" than females. Again though, it's probably got a 50/50 chance of working as well. I'd not depend on any of this.

 

[leadwolf1]

For me, this didn't work at all...turns out that I had a bunch of brave pullets

I've heard all these funny folks ways to tell boys from girls. To be honest, the hat waving sounds like it has the most promise. After all, boy chickens tend to be more "brave" than females. Again though, it's probably got a 50/50 chance of working as well. I'd not depend on any of this.