Okay, guys, I am just a rookie at this, so I don't knowit all. However, I do wonder if there is something more to this and can be completely dismissed out of hand like it seems is being done here.
First of all, to the person that said that many reptiles can be influenced, but mammals cannot, I reply, You are right about the reptiles. Many snakes, alligators, and red slider turtles are known for this. However, birds are not mammals...
I just hatched out 30 Plymouth Barred Rock chicks just yesterday. If wing feather sexing is reliable at all on one day old chicks, then I have 30 pullets out of 30 chicks hatched yesterday. Can anyone tell me what the odds of that happening are unless there was a determining factor for sex that could be contributed after the egg was laid and fertilized?
Now, just as reptiles, birds such as chickens are AMNIOTES. And, according to some scientific research that I was reading shortly before coming to this forum, amniotes can have external factors influence sex after fertilization and egg laying.
So, since I am a relative newbie, I will ask if anyone can determine if or how I could have messed up sexing my chicks. I tried to sex three different ways. Two ways were by "Old Wive's Tale" methods, by hanging and by size, shape, and distinction of the white spot on the head of the BR chicks, and then also by wing feather sexing.
I found that both the hanging method and the spot were somewhat accurate to the feather sexing, but were much more indeterminate compared to the wing feather sexing. While most looked or would act like a pullet, some were harder to figure. For instance, the white spots on the head proved to be like trying to hit a moving target. That method showed most to be pullets, but many to most were very hard to impossible to tell by the coloration.
With the hanging sexing, most would quickly relax and let the legs hang down, but some would hold their legs up and slowly release them or hold one leg up and one leg down. Again, very indeterminate of a method.
However, when it came to wing sexing, I found very determinate factors when researching it on the internet. Wing sexing was only good for when the chicks were 1 to 3 days old. Well, mine are all about one day old now. That being said, while two or three of the smallest chicks had smaller wing feathers altogether, ALL 30 of the chicks had primary feathers that were clearly and distincly much longer than the covert feathers between each of the primary wing feathers. Accordin to the websites that I read, that should be the determining factor for pullets, with cockerels having the gene that inhibits the early primary wing feather growth, thereby making the primary feathers the same length as the covert feathers on days one to three.
Nonetheless, 30 out of 30 of the hatchlings had the feathering distinctive of pullets on day one with no other external differences other than automated turning and temperature and humidity.
Any thoughts?
