Bantams, POL and sexing

Unless you have been very well educated and have a good eye you can tell from the vent and in some breeds the wing feathers.  Unless the breed is sex linked only really easy way is for them to go "cockadoole do"  or lay an egg.  It is not uncommon for a hen to change sex.

The hybrid chicks we get Ruby are either colour sexed like the Babcocks or feather sexed like the Amberlinks.  We are guaranteed no cockerals in our day old Babcocks because the hen chicks are browny coloured and the cockerals are yellow at hatching, so that one is easy.  The Amberlinks are feather sexed, and we do occasionally get a couple of cockerals in a flock of say 250 chicks, but they are easily spotted as from 4-6 weeks ish, their combs start to get bigger and redder.  Luckily we have only had to eat one of them, the others we've been asked for cockerals by people and have given them away!!!

And Roughlee's right, they can change sex, but some of them only do it temporarily if the cockerel that was with them is taken away, they take on the male role, redder bigger coms and can crow, then if another cockerel is introduced to the flock they revert to hens.  True honestly!!