Is squatting a good indication of sex?

[teach1rusl]

My chicks (5 of them) are will be six weeks old this weekend. I was told that one sure sign of being female is that when you pet them they will squat. Does that sound right? So a young cockeral would NOT squat down upon having his back stroked???

 

[cthrash1]

The girlys usually don't squat til closer to laying age... The younger ones probably did it because they got startled or something. I wouldn't go by that for gender because even when our BR cockerel was grown he still would squat as you petted his back then lay down while being petted.... He was so spoiled.

ETA: You'll know the real girly squat when it happens... my BR girly does what I call the squat walk for me while I'm in the pen... She is so funny.

 

[HennyPennies2007]

Never heard that exactly, but know that young pullets will squat. I have a polish that squats every time I walk by.....I keep telling her...STOP THAT!!! I AM NOT A ROOSTER!!

 

[kdcrws]

i would think 6 wks would be a bit soon for "the" squat. normally pullets are about 20 wks old before they lay and they start squatting right before they start laying. so maybe yours are ducking? LOL

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:

So that's an old wives tale thing, huh??? I'd heard it, then actually read a little anecdote about it in this month's Reminisce magazine about it. So I figured maybe it was true... Live and learn I guess....

 

[cthrash1]

Quote:

So that's an old wives tale thing, huh??? I'd heard it, then actually read a little anecdote about it in this month's Reminisce magazine about it. So I figured maybe it was true... Live and learn I guess....

You're not completely wrong... They just don't do it til closer to laying. May have been the age(POL) the article was refering to.

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:

So that's an old wives tale thing, huh??? I'd heard it, then actually read a little anecdote about it in this month's Reminisce magazine about it. So I figured maybe it was true... Live and learn I guess....

You're not completely wrong... They just don't do it til closer to laying. May have been the age(POL) the article was refering to.

Nawww...obviously just something some people used to believe I guess. Here's a partial quote... "When purchasing the baby chicks, we kids also learned how to tell the males from the females. We moved our open hands slowly over the top of the pen - males would rise up and the females would squat down..."
So then I started thinking about my own chicks and how they squat down when I lightly pet their backs... Old wives tale then...