Help! What gender?? 8 RIR s

[CountryHaven]

I've read a lot of the different ways to sex Rhode Island Reds but this is my first time and was looking for some input from some more experienced individuals. Everyone seems to have different ways that work... color, strip, wings.. Give me your opinion. They are about 6 days old. I tried to get a few group pictures and one of each chick. Trying to name them with my class...I am keeping the hens for my farm but will be giving away the roosters and need some help! Thanks
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[Ol Grey Mare]

Unfortunately, all the methods that would be used at this point would be little more than a good guess - especially if your birds are hatchery stock as some of the traits people come to recognize in their chicks that give early gender tells are tied into their specific breeding lines. There is no way to sex your birds at this stage.

 

[flowerchild88]

There are ways of "guessing" wing sexing (Females are supposed to have longer feathers on their wings). Some people say you can tell by the markings on their heads. Non of this is very accurate. Vent sexing is the only way to tell for sure at this age and unless you have someone who knows how to do it right you could hurt the chick, or at the very least judge a cockerel as a pullet. Your best bet is to wait until the cockerels start getting red combs and wattles.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

There are ways of "guessing" wing sexing (Females are supposed to have longer feathers on their wings). Some people say you can tell by the markings on their heads. Non of this is very accurate. Vent sexing is the only way to tell for sure at this age and unless you have someone who knows how to do it right you could hurt the chick, or at the very least judge a cockerel as a pullet. Your best bet is to wait until the cockerels start getting red combs and wattles.

Wing sexing is not an accurate method on pure bred birds - it is a sex linked trait that is taken advantage of by crossing a fast feathering male breed over a slow feathering female breed with the resulting chicks inheriting their feathering pattern from the parent of the opposite sex. For these crosses, it is true that the wing feathers will look different if examined in the first three days of life. For all other chicks any differences that appear to show this same pattern are coincidental rather than being tied to the gender of the chick.

 

[BantamLover21]

Your chicks are too young to sex.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Too early to tell.

 

[CountryHaven]

Thanks everyone... Just impatient I guess... I was hoping to send 2 males home with a student next weekend as the parents were interested in 2 males and I was trying to find any I might have homes... but I guess I will probably have to wait until about 4 weeks old??