unique sexing of chicks

[Georgia Nana]

An old farmer told me today that the best way of sexing newborn baby chicks is to..." Gently pick a chick up by the head. If it tucks its feet under itself, it's a hen; if it strikes with its feet, it's a rooster." Has anybody ever heard such???

 

[sourland]

Yes, this method s very frequently used and is generally 50% effective.

 

[Georgia Nana]

Thanks...won't depend on it!

 

[Wildflower_VA]

The current Backyard Poultry magazine has an article on all the different sexing methods and how reliable or not they are. They actually have pictures of some of those old farmer methods including the 'holding the chick by the head' method. You can read the article here: http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/6/6-3/determining_sex_in_chicks.html