Question/Idea

[CarpCharacin]

I have an idea, but first I have a question. Would you say that there are behaviors visible in chickens from an early age that are indicatory whether they are a pullet or cockerel? What are they?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sometimes there is. Generally I will see more forward upright behaviors, sometimes even coming at my hand when I put it in the breooder.

Often when startled females run away and males may stand their ground. Not always, but it is one sign I look for.

Others are thicker legs, slower feathering in some breeds like Orpington and cochins, and an All over meatiness about them.

Generally by 5 weeks boys develop a pink comb that closes the deal for me.

 

[casportpony]

Good subject!

#1 indicator for rooster for me is early sparring.

 

[azygous]

I had a chick display tid-bitting and mating at around six weeks. It was also kind of obvious when he also belted out a squeaky crow.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I had a chick display tid-bitting and mating at around six weeks. It was also kind of obvious when he also belted out a squeaky crow.

Oh I forgot about that one I had that was mock mating at 4-6 weeks. That was crazy. I love those tiny squeaky crows.

 

[CarpCharacin]

Okay, here is the idea, keep in mind that this is a very rough idea at this point and I'm not sure if it would even work. What if we compiled a list of these behaviors that could indicate the bird being a rooster, and then collected longitudinal data by applying the criteria to young birds, then observing to see which ones did turn out to be male, and then used that to calculate a probability a bird has of being a rooster if it meets a certain amount of criteria on the checklist? I'm not sure if this is even a viable idea, though

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You wanna put my "I got a feeling" about a chick into a graph?

 

[casportpony]

Okay, here is the idea, keep in mind that this is a very rough idea at this point and I'm not sure if it would even work. What if we compiled a list of these behaviors that could indicate the bird being a rooster, and then collected longitudinal data by applying the criteria to young birds, then observing to see which ones did turn out to be male, and then used that to calculate a probability a bird has of being a rooster if it meets a certain amount of criteria on the checklist? I'm not sure if this is even a viable idea, though

Good idea!

In my experience early sparring = 100% rooster
And as @oldhenlikesdogs mentioned, early crowing and mating, those two to me = 100% rooster.

Another one I look at is weight. Once you have raised enough of one breed/species I think you can make some assumptions on sex. For example, it I hatch a peachick and it weighs over 120 grams at 10 days of age it is almost certainly male.

 

[CarpCharacin]

You wanna put my "I got a feeling" about a chick into a graph?

The items on the checklist would probably have to be a bit more objective than "I got a feeling", but like I said, I'm not even sure how viable the idea is. Maybe after data is collected, items with weak correlations could be removed.

 

[casportpony]

The items on the checklist would probably have to be a bit more objective than "I got a feeling", but like I said, I'm not even sure how viable the idea is. Maybe after data is collected, items with weak correlations could be removed.

I think it's a great idea!