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Does anybody know how to sex chickens2007-11-24 17:20:11

i have about 9 little 2 week old baby chickens. how do i tell male from female?

Answers:

It seems easier to sex them when they are vey young, typically done at one day old. Most vets are not familiar with sexing unless they are specialized in aviary/exotics or livestock/farms.

At 2 weeks, you will probably be able to distinguish the pullets + the cockerels by observing the 2 week old chicks over the next 2 weeks (4 weeks). The pullets tails will grow straighter and probably start growing sooner than than the cockerels, and they will usually feather sooner. Some cockerels will even start to have a bit of comb.

Next time, you can try the 1 day old sex method on new chicks. There are four accepted methods for sexing day-old chickens:

--cloacal or vent sexing (1935)

--machine method (1950s)

--feather sexing (1969)

--colour sexing (1975)

I prefer the feather method. In the slow feathering males the coverts (wing tips) are either the same length or longer than the primary wing feathers. In the fast feathering females, the primary wing feathers are longer than the coverts. This is caused by a gene located on the sex chromosome where slow feathering is dominant to rapid feathering and controls the rate of wing and tail feathering in the chicken. The dominant slow-feathering characteristic is passed from mothers to their sons and the rapid feathering characteristic from the fathers to their daughters.

Advantages of feather sexing include: