How To Sex A Chicken - Wisdom From An Old Timer

[HenHutNut]

We have what is supposed to be 15 pullets, 1 roo....we just did the old timer method on them where you dangle them by their scruff....legs pulled up=roo, legs dangling=female....our experiment results were 12 pullets, 4 roos. I will be sure to let y'all know the outcome 8)

 

[cyanne64]

Haven't you ever heard of people doing this over a pregnant woman's belly. I do this with a crystal instead of a ring. I tested it on my male and female dogs, human beings and my chickens and it is pretty darn accurate! I believe it works something like witching sticks do with water.
Sometimes you have to keep the ring over them for a while before it begins to really move, it jumps a bit before it swings and it is hard to keep the chics still to do so. Maybe try when they are asleep and separate from the others.

I'm curious to know your results.

 

[jadelhoch]

we had chicks hatch a few days back (5) some of them have their end of wing feathers startig to grow, they actually look like they are hanging ,, is this normal, i had geese years ago and when this happens the wings always hung or were bent outward,???

 

[mithious]

Oh my gosh that is too funny...thanks for my morning laugh... +or- 50%

My late Daddy used some old methods for a lot of things, but I never heard/saw him do this one! A library of knowledge went with him...I have some of it, in my head, but vast amounts are gone! Wish I had the fore thought to write it all down back then! There's lots of new stuff today too, that make it so much easier, like heated water...those dang water containers, will NOT come apart completely frozen

that was me as a kid, trying to get the watering /chores done before the school bus came

but tons of stuff, that would apply today, has been lost.

I tried to find the " Old Timers" thread last night...anyone know how to find it on here?( I saw it mentioned on another thread) Thank God there are still some that have the knowledge and are willing to share it!!!

My Daddy never told me the hens that pecked me and didn't want to come off the nest, when I was collecting the eggs, were the broody hens...he just said "buck up and pick her up and get the eggs" I now wonder if it was his way of getting back at me for the dumb kid stuff I used to pull...like getting the tractor buried in the manure pile, trying to see If I could climb it with the TRACTOR...coming home from the neighboring dairy farm we used to help out on, during haying season, with a kitten from the hay barn, hidden in our shirt...like they wouldn't notice it mewing it's head off...back to the farm we would go to drop of the wayward kitten...the things we did, te he he...BUT, we worked hard, from a young age and learned a GREAT work ethic, became responsible farmers when bringing up our own families, and learned to be totally self sufficient! I really miss those days!!! Everyone worked together, helped each other when there was a tragedy, and did a lot of bartering! Life was so different then and it was a good thing!

 

[winchuck]

My breeder told me this is what she does. BUT today one of my hens crowed like the man he is! LOL I saw him do it. She offered to take him back, but I love having a rooster in the middle of 7 hens watching over them. I am suspicious of the one pictured here might also be a rooster. See his tail feathers? I am thinking rooster. Now, can two roosters actually live in the same flock without fighting? That is a hen behind him with her stubby little tail feathers and not much of a comb.

.

 

[mithious]

yeah, some do, when they are raised together and worked out a pecking order they both will adhere to. some don't though...you won't know till there is a problem, unfortunately!!!

Best of luck!

 

[winchuck]

I won't be seeing any horrible injuries will I? What will be the initial signs that things aren't working out? I will find him a new home if he isn't big enough to eat when and if problems arise.

 

[Luv-R-Chickens]

I'm with you on this, we also encountered the same thing.

 

[Gatorbob26]

You could also grab them by the wings and its the exact opposite the hens curl up and Roos hang and dangle an will sometime barely curl it is 100% correct on any poultry I have done it mysel on guineas turkeys chickens and ducks and one hundreds percent accurate trust me

 

[GimmeCake]

You could also grab them by the wings and its the exact opposite the hens curl up and Roos hang and dangle an will sometime barely curl it is 100% correct on any poultry I have done it mysel on guineas turkeys chickens and ducks and one hundreds percent accurate trust me

Unless you've tried it on 50+ poultry, and none are related to another, then the method isn't convincing enough.