New RIR chick - hen or roo!

[ella2025]

Today I went to tractor supply to buy some more feed and pine shavings for my 12 week olds and 10 weeks olds. I was surprised to find some chicks there!!! There were black sex links, bantams, Amber links and rir. Naturally because chicken math, I grabbed 4 of them, 2 Bsl, 1 amberlink and this lil guy. This is the rir chick and she/he was sold as straight run. Before choosing it I quickly searched up how to sex rir chicks at hatch. I know they're not necessarily feather sexable and I kinda just did it for fun, I don't really care if it's a roo. According to wiki how if the chick has a white spot on its wing it's a roo and if it's darker it's a hen. I picked this one bc it looks darker and didn't have entirely white wings like some of the other rirs. I did this knowing that the method probably doesn't work, and I'm willing to take the risk of getting a cockerel since I can keep him. I opened its wing and there's 2 rows of little feathers (again I know this method probably also only works on certain breeds). Any opinions? I dont really care about it's gender, and I know it's super early. It's maybe 4-5 days old and I'm just asking. I don't expect answers and I WILL wait and see.

 

[JedJackson]

It's too young. 6 weeks is a good starting point. Feather sexing has to be bred for-- Amberlinks are the only variety where I know this is the case. The wing spot thing sounds sketchy to me, too.

 

[redinator]

Today I went to tractor supply to buy some more feed and pine shavings for my 12 week olds and 10 weeks olds. I was surprised to find some chicks there!!! There were black sex links, bantams, Amber links and rir. Naturally because chicken math, I grabbed 4 of them, 2 Bsl, 1 amberlink and this lil guy. This is the rir chick and she/he was sold as straight run. Before choosing it I quickly searched up how to sex rir chicks at hatch. I know they're not necessarily feather sexable and I kinda just did it for fun, I don't really care if it's a roo. According to wiki how if the chick has a white spot on its wing it's a roo and if it's darker it's a hen. I picked this one bc it looks darker and didn't have entirely white wings like some of the other rirs. I did this knowing that the method probably doesn't work, and I'm willing to take the risk of getting a cockerel since I can keep him. I opened its wing and there's 2 rows of little feathers (again I know this method probably also only works on certain breeds). Any opinions? I dont really care about it's gender, and I know it's super early. It's maybe 4-5 days old and I'm just asking. I don't expect answers and I WILL wait and see.
View attachment 4155806View attachment 4155808

I just raised a batch or RIR and most were at the darker end of red. I ended up with 10 males and 6 pullets. The whole bunch . . . and one of the lighter chicks for comparison.

I didn't have leg bands for the tiny chicks, so I can't say for sure if the lighter ones turned out to be pullets, but the ratio seemed about right.

 

[ella2025]

It's too young. 6 weeks is a good starting point. Feather sexing has to be bred for-- Amberlinks are the only variety where I know this is the case. The wing spot thing sounds sketchy to me, too.

Speaking of amberlinks, here is mine. She seems to have a bald spot on her head, do you know what's going on and if it's anything to be concerned about ?

 

[JedJackson]

Speaking of amberlinks, here is mine. She seems to have a bald spot on her head, do you know what's going on and if it's anything to be concerned about ? View attachment 4156185View attachment 4156186

The only thing I can think of is that other chicks are plucking out her fluff in that spot, but it doesn't look like she is injured. I doubt it is anything to worry about, but you might want to ask in the medical forum, here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/

 

[redinator]

The only thing I can think of is that other chicks are plucking out her fluff in that spot, but it doesn't look like she is injured. I doubt it is anything to worry about, but you might want to ask in the medical forum, here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures.10/

x2

 

[ella2025]

Just asking, have any of you guys heard of the holding chicks by their feet and seeing if they raise their head for sexing? My grandfather told me that if you put it upside down by holding its feet for like 10 seconds, if its head immediately droops, it's a hen and if it's a little raised, looking upwards, it's a roo. I know it's a little inhumane, but i made sure to be quick with it and i tested with my 4 chicks, 3 of them being sex linked sexed females, and the fourth being this rir chick. The rir chick was the only one that raised its head. Any of you heard this, because it seems sketchy but maybe it works...?

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

Just asking, have any of you guys heard of the holding chicks by their feet and seeing if they raise their head for sexing? My grandfather told me that if you put it upside down by holding its feet for like 10 seconds, if its head immediately droops, it's a hen and if it's a little raised, looking upwards, it's a roo. I know it's a little inhumane, but i made sure to be quick with it and i tested with my 4 chicks, 3 of them being sex linked sexed females, and the fourth being this rir chick. The rir chick was the only one that raised its head. Any of you heard this, because it seems sketchy but maybe it works...?

It's false, and harmful.
Any "proof" would be either coincidence, or manipulated/bias.
People just want a pattern to follow.

*strongly encourage anybody reading to do your own research. The info I found may not be completely accurate, or I didn't repeat it correctly*

Doing a quick search online, chickens cannot breathe the same way humans do. Holding them upside down (or on their back) stops blood from pumping to organs (risking organ failure), causes their organs to put pressure on their air sacs, can cause aspiration, and does disrupt or stop their breathing. They can literally die.

Basically...
Any struggling is them struggling to breathe.
Any lying still is them not being able to struggle to breathe.

What I read also listed injuries such as broken bones, dislocated joints (wings, hips, legs etc) I assume from struggling or being treated roughly.