Living on a farm * I * see things everyday that you'd be hard pressed to find in a book. Over the last 10 years of breeding and selling silkies I've tried many ' sexing ' techniques only to find that none of them increase your 50/50 odds on a guess. The hatcheries have trained people , sexing thousands of birds at a time and with the numbers involved I guess they'd get pretty good at it. But they still get it wrong, you've only to read through the posts on this , and many other threads to see the many disgruntled customers. Vent sexing bantams is not to be recommended as it can be dangerous to the bird . That is my opinion and yes , you are I titled to yours but I think that for the sake of newcomers , that both sides of the argument should be heard.