sexing chicks???

[Chick_in_Indiana]

it there any way to sex baby chicks? I have silkies, frizzles, polish,a milli fluer duccle, and cochin bantams. how old before you can really tell? thanks a bunch, Krista

 

[kstaven]

Silkies are a challenge, even for experienced breeders. Polish ... the crest difference should be getting obvious by 3 weeks. Cochins can fool you too as some roosters are just late bloomers.

Difference in combs and wattles are the most common ways to tell boys from girls in most other breeds.

 

[da-cajun-angla]

I WATCHED A SERIES ON DIRTY JOBS WHERE THEY HAD A GUY THAT PICKED UP CHICKS, SQUEEZED THEM, IT MADE POOP COME OUT, AND I GUESS EXPOSED SEX ORGANS OR THE VENT...NOT SURE, SEE IF U CAN FIND THE SERIES ON YOUTUBE.

 

[arlee453]

Wait a while. Eventually they will either crow or lay eggs.

If they crow, it still MIGHT be a pullet. But if it lays eggs it definately is....

Seriously. Unless the chicks are sex-links (bred specially so you can tell gender either by feather length or color) the only way to tell gender in young chicks is to vent sex. That is a method that takes a lot of time and training to pefect, and then it's still only about 90% accurate.

In a lot of breeds, you can tell the difference between the genders by 4-5 weeks. Baby roos will have much more developed combs and wattles and they will be much redder.

Silkies and their kith and kin are still pretty hard to tell apart many times until they are much closer to sexual maturity. I have some silkies I hatched out back in November and I am just within the last couple weeks feeling pretty confident of gender. I had hunches early on, but wasn't CONFIDENT until recently.

You can always post pictures in the 'gender/breed' category here on the forum and get the expert opinions of those with more experience.