Telling the sex of a baby chick?

[rangertim]

I was wondering how old a chick has to be before you can tel the differance between a hen and a rooster?I want to give some away and don't want to give all the girls away.Thanks.

 

[Davaroo]

If you cannot sex them at birth, then you are in a waiting game.

After just a few days it can be near impossible to tell for sure, unless they are sex links.

The best thing to do is wait till they develop traits, 6-8 weeks.

 

[ahnah74]

ok i know this sounds silly, but do remember the old ring on a string trick or hanging a needle by a thread and holding it over your hand to see how many kids you might have? well that's what the guy that i bought my chicks from did and he was right. you take a ring and tie a string to it, about 6 inches. then hold it steady above the chick, if it moves in a circle then it's female. if the ring moves in an up and down motion it's male. for kicks and grins try in on your family.

 

[Davaroo]

ok i know this sounds silly, but do remember the old ring on a string trick or hanging a needle by a thread and holding it over your hand to see how many kids you might have? well that's what the guy that i bought my chicks from did and he was right. you take a ring and tie a string to it, about 6 inches. then hold it steady above the chick, if it moves in a circle then it's female. if the ring moves in an up and down motion it's male.

Here is another: toss a floppy hat over their heads. The males will crane their necks and the females will dive for cover.
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Pretty cool, huh? And patently false.
This sort of thing is the stuff of wives tales. We love such lurid and tricky pseudo truth, yet choose to ignore the actual truth.

Seriously, don't stake the sex of your chicks (or children) on such things. Sex them at birth, employ sex link traits or wait. These are the time tested, albeit boring, methods that work.

 

[BJ_BOBBI_JO]

So then if we cant tell the sex of the chic will they still fight eachother if there are more then 1 male in the bunch when they grow up? Or is it like cats where as they tend to be more calm around their litter mates?

 

[terri9630]

Quote:
A lady did that while I was preg and she said I would have a boy and 7 kids before I was done. I had a girl and an emergency hysterectomy. Only 2 kids, both girls.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Answer to the first question - yes.
Males will fight and jockey for position incessantly.


Answer to the 2nd quetion: Calm is a relative term in the chicken yard. Multiple cocks tend to be "calm" in the absence of females, so if you intend to maintain several in relative peace, keep them separate from the females.

Works the same way with human males.

 

[farrier!]

<<<Works the same way with human males.>>>>

 

[CritterFarmer]

Depends on a few things too... like the breed (some are naturally more aggressive) and the number of hens.

A few males and many females (about 6-8 per rooster) usually works out OK. But many males and few females will be a nightmare for all.

There will be some fighting, but as long as there is enough room for everyone to get away then you might be fine. We have 13 hens and 2 roos and the roos will bicker a bit, but there's never been a full-on battle or bloodshed. I've heard that for some reason there is actually less fighting with 3 roos than with 2. Maybe someone else can back this up.

If they are mixed as hatched, then you should expect about a 50/50 mix... but if you bought them from someone who knows how to sex (and didn't tell you) then you may find the deck stacked a little more and you'll probably have more males.