Is it true that sex can be determined by wing feathers?

[comerrick]

Excuse me if this a naive questions, I am new at this. But a lady at the country store told me that male chicks have a space in their wing feathers and pullets don't. I went home and looked my my 6 chickies and 2 don't have the space but 4 do. So that would mean that I have 4 bantam roos that I just cannot keep. So is it true?
Lov
Liv

 

[speckledhen]

Only on certain breeds, not all. She was only partially correct.

 

[Davaroo]

The only reliable way to sex chickens is when they are born via their vent. You have to look inside their picky vent for their genital organs. But it only works within a few hours of hatching, you must be an expert to get it right and even then mistakes happen.

Now there ARE some breeds that have distinct wing feather differences between male and female. But it is only on a few breeds and its not a certainty by any means.

Outside of vent sexing, your best bet is sex-linked coloration.

 

[McGoo]

I made that mistake and named my little pullet Uncle Leland.

Most all the experts say that you'll have to wait until you see if their comb comes in red... about 5 - 6 weeks or so...

Good luck.

 

[comerrick]

Thanks. I'll just wait and see. There is one that I have this gut feeling that he is a male, the rest, I'm not so sure on. We'll see. Thanks for letting me know about uncle leland. It gives me hope.

And a chuckle.

Lov
Liv