What Are Different Ways To Sex Baby Chicks

[-Flash-]

Ooooh, gotcha! They're pretty close to what I was getting, then!

Which tests did you end up doing?

I did:
The coin one, where you flip a coin.
The needle and thread one.
The one where you pick 'em up and if they squeak they are a girl... or something.
The string one.
How long the comb is.
How if you tip them forwards gently their tails spread out. (This one worked the best)
If you scare them.
And if you tap the tails they pip for one gender and stay silent for the other.

They might not be the same as yours though....

 

[mamabear6810]

Nope! They were my percentages!

Did you do the string test?

 

[demonic]

Size and color scheme also play big factors, some colors typically are more common in Roos then hens

 

[-Flash-]

Did you do the string test?

Yeah, it didn't work very well. 65% chance that it'll be wrong.

 

[Mamatomany123]

I do the "clench my buttcheecks and pray method". Has worked like a charm. Haven't ended up with a male yet

 

[mamabear6810]

Yeah, it didn't work very well. 65% chance that it'll be wrong.

Did you record at what age? And test at different ages?

 

[-Flash-]

Did you record at what age? And test at different ages?

I did it at 3 weeks old. And 4 weeks old. Some had different results, some had the same, the same ones were usually the right ones.

 

[mamabear6810]

I did it at 3 weeks old. And 4 weeks old. Some had different results, some had the same, the same ones were usually the right ones.

Wow! That is crazy. I had 95% accuracy as long as they were a week or older. I think i had a higher % when looking for chicks with longest tails and longest wings, though.

 

[-Flash-]

Wow! That is crazy. I had 95% accuracy as long as they were a week or older. I think i had a higher % when looking for chicks with longest tails and longest wings, though.

Oh, yeah.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

I did:
The coin one, where you flip a coin.
The needle and thread one.
The one where you pick 'em up and if they squeak they are a girl... or something.
The string one.
How long the comb is.
How if you tip them forwards gently their tails spread out. (This one worked the best)
If you scare them.
And if you tap the tails they pip for one gender and stay silent for the other.

They might not be the same as yours though....

Those all sound like ones in my roster, yup! My pick up chirp method is the opposite, though, where the girls are quiet and the boys make a sound. My percentages for them as of right now are as follows:

Coin flip 45.5% correctly predicted chicks
Needle and thread 52.5% correct
Pick up chirp 52.5% correct
String peck 42.6% correct
Comb 46.7% correct
Tail fan 55.3% correct
Scare / surprise 50.8% correct
Tail tap 54.7% correct

These numbers usually do change just a tiny bit every time I add new data to the charts, so obviously they could be different come this time next year.

And all of the chicks I test are under 4 weeks old just to make sure they aren't too sexually dimorphic yet. I usually test them between a few days and 2 weeks of age as much beyond that age and I start noticing things that may sway my judgement and I don't want subconscius skewing in my numbers. I actually don't usually jot down the exact age when they are tested, but that's an excellent point that could be worth noting. Perhaps I'll add on to my experiment with repeat tests at various ages if I have the time to do so. Some years I barely get all the tests in just once per chick!