Sexing Day olds...

[chrissieg]

Just how reliable is the wing feather method? Does it work for all breeds?

My friends dog had to be put down today, as I have some chicks hatching right now (day 20) I said I would name one 'Annie'. I don't want it to be an 'Andrew'

 

[ella]

How sweet! I have a hen named after my uncles dog who died the same year.

Ok, on to the details about feather sexing. Mating an early-feathering male such as an Ancona or Leghorn to hens of a slow-feathering breed like Sussex or Rhode Island Reds will result in male chicks which have very short flight feathers which do not protrude past the downy wing coverts and females which show definite wing flights which show clearly past the wing coverts. This method requires inspection immediately after hatching, before the males feather growth "catches up" to that of some late hatching pullets.

So no, it only works on some hybrid chickens, not purebreds, sorry.

You can start to tell gender at about 5 weeks old for most breeds. Even then it can be tricky.