How to tell male or female?

[EEGHEAD]

My chicks are 3 days old. And I need to figure which are males and which are females. I have 4 of them, 1 of the four is more active than the rest and has more of a comb, so a was assuming he was the only male out of the four. But I would really like to be sure. Thanks!

 

[joedie]

Unless they are sex linked, you won't be able to tell until they get the rooster characteristics which can be anywhere from 3-16 weeks. Its too late for vent sexing and you really have to know what you are doing for that anyway. The personality or behaviors won't help you at this age. Sorry.

 

[Kiki A]

If you let the chicks wander on the ground for 5 minutes, and you drop a hat on the ground the females will shy away from it, but the males will look to see what it was.

 

[jeepguy982001]

 

[EEGHEAD]

I'm getting ready to start another batch of like 12 or 15 eggs. How do you vent sex them, and when so a know once the next batch hatches?

 

[nurse_turtle]

Vent sexing should only be done by trained personnel experienced in the procedure. If you don't do it exactly right, you will damage the internal organs of your chick and harm or kill it.

 

[Hoosierchickens]

I don't know. I've only had chickens for a year and I seem to have a knack for sniffing out the roosters very early on. So far I've been 100% accurate. If you watch them long enough you'll notice subtle differences in their appearance and behaviors. After a few weeks their combs usually start to give them away. You should post pics to see if we can guess. It's tough on appearance alone the first couple weeks though.

 

[AHDCST]

Okay this is gonna sound kinda funny but....If you hold a chick upside down by it's feet for just a second, the hens(girls) will just hang limply and the cockerels(boys) will try to get themselves back right side up. It is 80-90% accurate. I was told this by a older lady who has had chickens about her whole life and she swears by it. The breed of the chicks can make a difference. Some breeds the comb gives them away at a few weeks of age. I also have been told if a chick pecks your hand when you reach into the brooder, mark the chick with a dab of nail polish(not red) and watch. Almost always the chick that pecked at you will be a boy. Hope this helps. Send us some pics of the peeps.please!

 

[Rita63]

This is great info for me. I'm a new chicken momma and I have 6 chicks bought at the feed store. Five are all the same size and kind of laid back but one is twice the size and when I reach in the coop he/she runs at my hand aggressively. Also he/she has a bit of a comb growing.....I'm assuming it's a rooster? I'm not sure how old they are but they've got little wing feathers growing and about 1/2 inches of tail feathers now......

 

[ButchGood]

This is great info for me. I'm a new chicken momma and I have 6 chicks bought at the feed store. Five are all the same size and kind of laid back but one is twice the size and when I reach in the coop he/she runs at my hand aggressively. Also he/she has a bit of a comb growing.....I'm assuming it's a rooster? I'm not sure how old they are but they've got little wing feathers growing and about 1/2 inches of tail feathers now......

Two to three weeks old id say