Wing sexing? Can it be done?!

[DUCKGIRL89]

Ok, im a new chicken mama and totally loving it! They are so much more friendlier then the ducklings were! Totally lovin' the chicken thing!

Ok, heres my question, my friend told me I can sex 3 day old chicks (not a 100% acurate sexing method) but looking at the wing feathers, and that if their even and nicly set its a cock (?)

And that if the feathers are set uneven and narly looking then its a hen (?)

Anybody ever done this? Is it atleased 90% acurate?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Lothiriel]

I know hdowden has wing sexed her d'Uccles and so far (about 4 weeks I think) it looks accurate. I've never done it, so I don't have any real advice. But good luck!

 

[stephanie1992]

ive been doin it for my last hatch of eggs and soo far its been right. u could give it a try and c if ur correct

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

Cool! I will do that. My first to hatch have very unset looking feathers, lets hope pullet

(shes a black orpington) and I have another that has very nicly set wings, thinking cock. (and thats a splash orpington, so I can hatch blue babies if.im correct

)

 

[hdowden]

i did it with my d'uccles as mentioned above and also with some bcm, i still cant say it was accurate with them yet though

 

[jeslewmazer]

I does not work with all breeds, but it's worth a try.

 

[ghulst]

I work in a hatchery and all our chicks are feather sexed because all the breeders have the gene for feather sexing bred in them.most hatchery bred birds are feather sexed.

 

[fancyfowl4ever]

They have to be bred for it to be feather sexable. Most largefowl hatchery stock is feather sexable, most bantams and exhibition stock is not. My hatchery leghorns I can feather sex and my exhibition ones I can't.

 

[Chris09]

It is not 100% and they have to be bred for Feather Sexing to be accurate.

Feather Sexing Chicks

Color sexing chicks can be a difficult task and is dependent upon the phenotype of the chick. If a chick does not have the correct down color, then you can not color sex the chick. There is a way of using another sex-linked trait to sex chicks based upon the size of the primary and secondary feathers on the wing of a newly hatched chick.

Feather sexing chicks can be accomplished by crossing males that are homozygous for rapid feather growth or carry two rapid feather growth alleles ( k+/k+) with females that are hemizygous or carry only one slow feather growth allele ( K/_W).

The female parent contributes a dominant gene for slow feather growth (K) to all the male offspring while the female offspring will inherit only one rapid feather growth allele ( k+) from the father. This cross produces males that have slow feather growth (K/k+) and females that have rapid feather growth (k+/_W).


The following site provides an excellent example of how to tell the difference between a rapid feathering female (pullet) chick and a slow feathering male (cockerel) chick. You have to examine the feathers on the wings of the newly hatched chick. Wait until the down dries and examine the wing feathers.

http://animalsciences.missouri.edu/reprod/ReproTech/Feathersex/sld006.htm


The table below contains some of the birds that can be crossed to produce chicks that can be feather sexed.

Any of the males in the table, can be crossed with any of the females in the table to produce offspring that can be feather sexed. If you purchased your birds from a hatchery, check with the hatchery to see if the hatchery feather sexed the birds you purchased. If your stock was feather sexed, then the chickens can not be used for feather sexing crosses.

Information above from a post that tadkerson did on sex-linked chickens
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=261208

Chris

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
I have a question for you,
How are the breeders bred for feathers sexing and still considered pure bred?
In order to have offspring that is a feather sex-link they have to be the offspring of a rapid feathering male (k+/k+) and a slow feathering female (K/_w) and there had to be some cross breeding somewhere.


Chris