How to sex chicks: 6 Effective methods

How can you tell if a chick is male or female when it’s young? One of the most asked questions from people involved in commercial poultry production and raising backyard chickens. 

The most common questions asked about how to sex chicks include;

• How to sex a chicken at 1 week old?
• How to sex chicken eggs?
• How to tell if a 3-week-old chick is male or female?
• How to tell if a 2-week-old chick is male or female?
• How to sex bantam chickens?
• Sexed chickens for sale
• How to sex broiler chickens?

Indeed determining the sex of a chick at a very young age is quite difficult, unlike determining the sex when it’s older. 

This is because when the chicks are young, they all have similar features, making it difficult to distinguish males from females. 

How to sex chicks?

Though it is difficult to distinguish them, it is not impossible. Mostly sexing is done when chicks are about five to eight weeks old when male and female separations are done. 

Day-old chicks that are autosex bred or sex-linked crossed are easier to distinguish because 

Autosexing chicken breeds

The autosexing chicken breeds such as Rhodebar or Cream Legbar reproduce chicks with distinctive down colors, making it easier to know the males from the females. 

Sex-linked crosses

With the sex-linked crosses, parents from different pure breeds with different colors produce different colors of males and females at hatching. For instance, a male Rhode Island Red (genetically gold) and a female Light Sussex (genetically silver) will produce gold male chicks and silver female chicks. 

There used to be “chick sexers,” employed by commercial hatcheries who go from farm to farm to determine a chick’s gender by looking at its vent before sex-linked hybrids were developed. Due to how easy it was to make a mistake, breeders with extensive experience raising backyard poultry avoid vent-sexing chicks.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN SEXING CHICKS 

Here are some things to look out for when you second your chicks. 

Size of the chick

When it comes to size, male chicks are usually bigger than females, and males tend to have stockier legs and bigger feet than females.  

Chick Behavior

Male chicks begin to strut when maturing, usually around 6 weeks old, by standing upright and protruding their chests. When other chicks approach, the males frequently raise their hackles to demonstrate dominance. 

Wattles and Combs

The most straightforward way to determine the sexes of chicks is by looking at their wattles and combs, which are often more developed and red on male chicks when they are about 5-8 weeks old. 

Back and Tail Feathers 

Cockerels will have more rounded tail feathers and a more pointed back, whereas pullets will have somewhat more rounded feather tips.

Tails 

Males often have longer tails than females because they have more pointed tail feathers. It’s vital to be aware of the breed you’re sexing because it can be the opposite for other breeds.

Crowing 

Young cockerels will eventually begin crowing between 8 and 10 weeks after hatching. The problem is that it starts as a little shriek and takes weeks of practice to get to a full cock-a-doodle-do, so unless you can identify the bird, you might miss it.

Conclusion

I hope you can now identify the sex of your chicks using these methods. Happy chicken farming!