[Newbie]

I am loath to put this into google so wondered if anyone can offer any tips!!  At what age is it possible to sex them and is there an art.  Any links would be useful....

[joyfull]

there is such a thing called vent sexing but this is very difficult to do. Other ways depend on the breed - some are colour sexed, others feather sexed and some such as silkies can be extremely difficult - you often have to wait until they either crow or lay an egg 

[Newbie]

ok, well they won't be silkies as the eggs have come from a mix of light sussex and black marans.  Guess I will have to wait for them to start waking the neighbourhood!!

[AL Hathaway]

ways to sex a baby chick

Cloacal, or vent sexing

Machine sexing looks into the lens of the instrument and makes a determination of the sex of the chicken by seeing whether the chicken has testes or ovaries

Feather sexing


in some breed you can tell a rooster by the comb it will be a bit bigger and be a light pinkish colour and have little red wattles started but i think you need a knack for it as my hubby says honey is it a boy or a girl and i can judge fairly well even early on. It takes four to six weeks for secondary sex characteristics such as the size and shape of the comb, to become visible enough to distinguish between the two sexes.

[andy_h]

a few Barcardi Breezers & then ... oh, I see what you mean

I seem to remember HFW & his handlebar'd friend sexing mature chooks by the pointiness of their feathers, but no clue whether that works on babies

[Casey76]

Well assuming you haven't got sex-linked (hybrids which you can tell the sex by the down colour at day old), or auto sexing (pure breeds in which you can sex by down colour) chicks, then you are really looking for secondary sexual characteristics... and sometimes it is not easy!

It is easier with birds who have single combs (other than rose, pea or walnut).  At about 6-8 weeks on young cockerels, the combs start to grow and their wattles will also start to grow.  Cockerels often have a more upright stance than pullets, any may have heavier legs.

As they get older, cockerels develop pointy neck and saddle hackles, while pullets remain round.

I ended up with two silver laced bantam dottes last year, and I switched from pullet to cockerel, back to pullet and so forth many, many times... even much more experienced breeders than I said pullet... until they both started crowing at abut 26 weeks!

I would say that with most single combed breeds you can tell definitively by 10 weeks.  I daren't speat to rose combs after last years experience lol!

[Newbie]

They are a mix of light sussex and black marans.  Apparently Hubbies darts pal can do it so may be inviting him round..... Fingers crossed that they actually hatch!!

[PaulineM]

What breeds can be colour sexed?

[Casey76]

What breeds can be colour sexed?

OK, so if you have a genetically gold cockerel (e.g. RIR) and a genetically silver hen (e.g. light Sussex), then the male chicks will be yellow, and female chicks will be buff

Or, if you have a genetically gold cockerel (e.g. RIR) and a barred hen (e.g. barred plymouth rock) then all the chicks will be black, but males will have a splash of yellow on their heads.

You can check out www.creamlegbar.co.uk for pics showing the difference between male and female CLB chicks

[Newbie]

so in theory with a black maran dad and light sussex mum then the females would be buff and the males black.  It's not going to be that simple though is it?!  Ah well wait and see, will just be glad if they hatch really as it's our (and her) first go!!

[ella98]

if they are about 1 - 3 days old i found feather sexing is really good and i got 100% accurate follow this link..
http://animalsciences.missouri.edu/reprod/ReproTech/Feathersex/sld001.htm

hope this helps!!

[Casey76]

so in theory with a black maran dad and light sussex mum then the females would be buff and the males black.  It's not going to be that simple though is it?!  Ah well wait and see, will just be glad if they hatch really as it's our (and her) first go!!

No, it's not that simple unfortunately    You get red sex-links (commercial red hens such as warrens) using the gold/silver combination (and it doesn't work with a silver cockerel and a gold hen either!) and black sex-links (BlackRocks) using the gold male, and barred female.

[Newbie]

Thanks for that link Ella, does this work for anyone else out there?  Will def use this when/if the time comes.  Beats being broody myself but I am so eager to get up every morning!!