Need help sexing chicks

[HBuehler]

neighbor!! How old are they?
The feather sexing only works for a few days on some breeds not your leghorns though. However little leghorn roos are easy to spot after just a couple of weeks-his comb will look huge compared to the others you have. I can usually spot them in the pen around a week old. The others it's not that easy until the secondary male traits kick in.

 

[gottalovemychickens]

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no thats right !!!

 

[HBuehler]

http://animalsciences.missouri.edu/reprod/ReproTech/Feathersex/sld001.htm
This link has very good pictures on feather sexing and explains it well...what it really doesn't mention though is the breeds it's not that accurate on.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

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no thats right !!!

While you can feather sex, it is only for specific breeds or crosses! Not ALL breeds can be sexed by this method. If that were true, I'd have all hens.

 

[mikesbigroo]

i was told by a ole timer that if ya hold a chic by the scruff of the neck and if the legs hang it would be a hen, if they pull them up it will be a roo,, thats his story not mine, i believe there is a way to tell by the pin feathers, but not quite sure

 

[Year of the Rooster]

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That way is not accurate. You can and will severely hurt the chick. I know people who have tried that here and it resulted in the death of the chick.

 

[PunkinPeep]

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That way is not accurate. You can and will severely hurt the chick. I know people who have tried that here and it resulted in the death of the chick.

when my friend told me about that method a few weeks ago, the first thing i thought was, "hey that sounds an awful lot like 'how to cull a chick.'" I don't think i would try it. i would rather try the vent method.

 

[paoniapoultry]

i read a few things about it and i have done it before with success... usually just for my own curiosity, but i have been successful giving away only hens to people who ask for them...

at 1 week old the hens have grown in wing feathers that cover their whole body, while the roosters have short little stubby wings... after about 2 weeks, the roosters wings catch up and you can't tell for another few weeks until the comb starts to get bigger on the roosters than the hens...

it probably is dependent on breed, but i have over 18 different breeds and i can usually tell at 1 week old who is who...

good luck...