What do you look for when sexing chicks?

[Henriettta]

This is for the sake of curiousity, and that I genuinely want to learn. I think it is just such a niche thing, and I've never seen what others see until we are close to a definitive "crow". How do you do it???
See, I'm a dairy farmer, and I'm used to reading cattle's body language, and disposition. Heck, I can tell a bull from a heifer by the shape of the hooves 9/10 before they've even made it all the way out of mama!
But when it comes to poultry? No dice or too late.

If I were to introduce a newcomer to my farm, and teach them how to "read" a cow, I would tell them something along the lines of
"Ears, eyes, nose, feet", as an introduction of what to look out for.

(Are the ears perky? Like satellites?
Are the eyes bright, tired, squinted?
Is the nose clean? Wet? Dry? Square? Narrow?
Are the feet healthy? Running right at you? )

So when it comes to sexing chicks, or heck, even telling the difference between a pullet and young rooster (aside from the crow), what would you tell a newcomer to look out for?

 

[Lemon-Drop]

This is what I look for.

1. Some breeds are sex linked (super easy to tell) meaning that cockerels and pullets look different from birth.

A few sex linked breeds are:
The red and black sex links
Sapphire Gems
Barred rocks
Legbars
Rhodebar
These are just off the top of my head, there are tons of others, I’m sure.

Feather sexing

Feather sexing only happens when a rooster with fast feathering is crossed with a hen with slow feathering. A cockerels feathers will look different than a pullets. Not my picture! It also has to be done at a very early age.

Stance
A cockerel will have a more proud, upright stance. A pullet will not have as high/upright of a stance.
(Note, this is not a fully accurate way to sex chickens, it just can help you get an idea)

Behavior.
Cockerels will act a bit more brave than pullets, and might not startle as easily. Again, as said before, this is just to keep your eye out.

Comb and wattle growth.
This is what I usually judge off of, especially if all I have to go off of is a picture. A cockerel will grow a larger, redder, comb and wattle than most pullets of the same age.
A picture of my Welsummer, 7 weeks.

BR (barred rock) cockerel (also auto-sexing, but just using it for comb/wattle comparison. 7 weeks. Not my picture!

There also won’t be this big of a contrast most of the time. Luna (the welsummer) just had a nice, small comb.

Hackles and saddles.
At 12 or so weeks, a cockerel will develop pointy hackles and saddles, and @Quaicken108 shared a diagram. They won’t look probably quite this contrasted, as I think the photo is of a full grown hen/cockerel. But it helps you get the general idea.

And then the final one. Lay or crow. A rooster will crow, a hen will lay. (Surprise!)

Anyway, these are what I usually look for, please forgive me if they are wrong. Thanks!

 

[K0k0shka]

The male chicks are whichever ones are your favorites. That's the most reliable method



(underlying explanation: males are bolder and more adventurous and when young socialize with humans better than females do)

 

[Henriettta]

The male chicks are whichever ones are your favorites. That's the most reliable method



(underlying explanation: males are bolder and more adventurous and when young socialize with humans better than females do)

Isn't this the truth. I've noticed this bigtime. Which is why I always try to socialize the unsocialable I do not enjoy chickens that hate me! Hahaha

 

[Quaicken108]

Development around the face is best when really young. The boys tend to develop faster, gaining a redder face and bigger comb and wattles. When they get to 12+ weeks, cockerels (boys) saddle and hackle feathers are pointed and the girls are rounded. These are key things that newcomers can pick up quite easily.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I had an EE cockerel saddle as early as 4½ weeks.

I use several different sexing methods, but Wing Feather bud sexing is the one I use more frequently. Each breed, & cross with both genders have specific feather growth patterns, & variations which makes it alittle challenging. But I got this technique down, & wing feather sex accurately at the rate of 97%.


I sex chicks by comb/wattle size, & color when certain chicks reach about 4 weeks old.

Feather color is a good one with specific breeds, & crosses.
AmberLinks, Red Sex-Links, & Black Sex-links are a few examples of auto sexing types of crosses.

Barring Sex-Linked cross method: If you breed a solid colored rooster, such as an Australorp to a Barred Rock hen, you get Sex-linked chicks, with males having headspots, & females being solid black.


BB Red/Wildtype, Partridge, & Wheaten birds are sexable at about 4-5 weeks old when breast plumage grows in. Males will have black breast feathers, & females will either have salmon, light cream, or white, or brown with lace, & stippling.

 

[Henriettta]

There's always one last pathetic shred of hope left until they crow...

Then you think, with that measly 1%
"Well I heard of hens crowing sometimes" LOL

 

[K0k0shka]

@SageLeBert you said you had partridges... Would you mind posting some pictures, for reference? I have partridge chicks right now too (3 weeks old) and am dying to figure them out, and seeing pictures of others that are older might help...

 

[K0k0shka]

Interesting. Usually when I see young partridge birds with black on their head area it usually stays.
View attachment 2656742These are pullets.

My welsummer, which are "Red Partridge," but is actually Red Duckwing, feathered out with red, but that's probably because of different genes.

My boy had a LOT of black on him when he was young. More of him was black than not black. Here he is at 10 weeks:

A lot of the black turned to orange and red as he matured, but only after 6 months or so. Here he is at 7 months:

You seem to have a lot of experience... Do you have more pictures of partridge patterned juveniles, both male and female? I’m curious about mine, but also about the pattern in general.

 

[Henriettta]

No problem! The girls will definitely spar with the boys. I had a little female that I was sure was a male for a long time because she was feisty and rambunctious, always fighting with the known boys. She had a pea comb and those are difficult for me to judge so I thought roo, but as she aged she had the form of a female, that elizabethan hump in front of their tail, and sure enough, she laid eggs.

Hens will fight with roosters. I added a new roo to my flock and he was working his way up through the ranks. One night the queen was sick of his behavior and ran over and literally planted both feet in his side and knocked him off another hen.

I'm laughing at the way you called your boss hen the "Queen"
The leader of my flock is also referred to as the "Queen"
Queen Ladybird in all her glory