Why isn't feather sexing accurate? *pics*

[MA Mama]

Got it, Blazejester. I'm not too good at the whole "wait and see" thing, as you can tell.

 

[MA Mama]

Whittni - What kind of chicken is that in your photo - it's beautiful!

 

[Kev]

The kind of feather sexing done by hatcheries is a specific and sex linked gene- called the K gene. It inherits exactly the same way as other sex linked genes such as barring. Breed a RIR with BR hens and you have sexable chicks at hatch(it's due to barring- a sex linked gene). Daughters will be barred, boys not. Same with the slow feathering K-GENE- breed a fast feathering rooster with slow feathering hens- cockerels will have very short/few quills at hatch while pullets will have basically twice the amount of wing feathers and they will be longer like on pictures you've seen online.

Commercial operations like broilers use the K-gene because it gives clear sexing right at hatch for immediate sorting into cockerels and pullets separately. They don't want to wait for several days for sexing. Especially for white broilers and leghorns, because they are white, can't use other sex linked genes such as barring.

Breeding a BR roo over RIR hens will not give sexable chicks(all chicks barred). Same with breeding a slow feathering roo over fast feathering hens(can be either all slow feathering or both fast and slow if roo is pure for it or not).

There can be differences in how the sexes feather out in some breeds/lines- I could sex the chicks as they grew over the first week from my old Games, pullet wings grew faster than cockerel wings. But they were not very dependably sexable right at hatch. Just when they grew out their wings some. Different from how the commerically used K gene works. So maybe you will be able to make guesses based on how the chicks grow their feathers in your line, it possibly isn't the same K gene used by hatcheries. I'm not sure what exactly is up with chick wing pattern in lines like these Games, could be hormonally related.