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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously)

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s.crum

02-21-2008 21:39:03




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I know, I can hear the snickers now and if after 47 years I haven't figgered it out....
Anyhow this question was put to me tonight by one of the "youngsters" at work. Must be she figgers since I grew up farming I'd know this. We're talking chickens HERE! Well anyway we never had chickens so I never bothered to ask.
Sooo I'm thinkin' I'll just ask old Ray. Well I walked away thinkin' "must be a more scientific way than puttin' all the chicks in a dark room for awhile, then turning a light on and seein' which one's crow", in other words, Ray didn't know either.
So I'm lookin' to your guys for the answer to the most perplexing question of the day. Dad would know, but if I could ever ask him another question, it would be more important than this.

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DaveS

02-23-2008 10:30:18




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
See which ones have the longest pecker.

Ok, I couldn't resist =)



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JTinNJ

02-22-2008 15:23:18




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
The ones that lay eggs are female.The ones that don't lay eggs are male.



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Bob Huntress

02-22-2008 11:50:46




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
To be honest, I can rarely tell the difference. I know what to look for, but when I check, if it isn't very obvious, they all look the same to me. A few weeks of age is when they start maturing to a point that I can tell, but not usually from checking the vents. Either way, I have yet to get an unwanted rooster. I have been getting my chickens for four years now, at R&J feed, and if I don't order a rooster, I don't get a rooster, not yet anyway. I did order a couple of roosters this year, though. I like hearing that distinct sound of the country. My wife was given a rooster by a disatatisfied owner, and we loved it. After he was mortally wounded by a stray dog or fox, we decided that we would maintain a rooster in the flock. The rooster we have now is probably gay, so I don't even think we'll cook him, for fear of making the kids gay. Yes, he is most likely that gay. We ordered a couple of Black Astrolops roosters with our pullets, this year. As soon as they get here, March 5, our current rooster is so gone. By the way, does anyone want a rooster that will not be bothering the hens?

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ChickenPlucker

02-22-2008 11:19:37




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
Ya gotta give their hinny a pinch and they will poop a bit. Then turn it upside down an look and see if'n they got a pecker or a verginer. Watch they don't poop while you are lookin and don't get yersef excited.



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mark

02-22-2008 10:23:48




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
uh....raise their skirt?



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Old Roy agiin

02-22-2008 10:11:30




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
I know around Pittsburgh pa you better do it like [crocodile Dundee].!! Oh, I'm sorry you guys are talking about birds.LOL



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Bill(Wis)

02-22-2008 09:10:19




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
All of the stories I tell are true, to some degree. We had a hatchery in the farm business I worked in as a teenager. We hatched baby chicks by the thousands. I would put the chicks up in boxes and the "chicken sexers" would come by. Back in those days (mid-fifties) they were all Japanese people. I was told they were nearsighted and better suited for the task. They would pick up each chick and look closely at it's vent. Then they tossed the roosters into one box and the hens into the other box. They did that so fast that I had a hard time keeping up with the count. I had to make sure each of the four compartments of the box had 25 chicks in it and also keep feeding them more chicks and more boxes. Then I delivered chicks to the big growers, several thousand per load. I remember one time I just got the boxes inside the chicken house before a big thunderstorm hit. While I took a keen interest in things back then, chicks in particular, I never tried to qualify as a chicken sexer. I think they were quite well paid. They always came by in a brand new Ford station wagon.

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RayP(MI)

02-22-2008 17:34:59




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to Bill(Wis), 02-22-2008 09:10:19  
When we bought chicks what Bill said was about it. Those skilled could probably run 97 or 98 percent correct on pullets. Donno what they looked for on day-old chicks, but they were good at it! 'Course, I don't go looking up a bunch of chick's vents either!



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Bill(Wis)

02-22-2008 09:19:40




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to Bill(Wis), 02-22-2008 09:10:19  
I remembered some more. In that I had trouble keeping up, I sweet talked the young chick in accounting into helping me. She seemed fascinated by the whole process.



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mj

02-22-2008 07:23:25




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to Proxy server, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  

Joe (Wa) said: (quoted from post at 04:13:59 02/22/08) Heck, that"s easy. Chickens like to get up on something to roost for the night.

You need a telephone, a 6 pack of beer, and a small wire cage about 2" x 3".

Open all the beer bottles and drink 1/2 of each, put them back in the carton and set it in one end of the cage. Set the telephone in the other end of the cage.

Wait until night, dump about a dozen chicks in the cage and turn off the lights.

Wait about 5 minutes and turn on the lights. Males are on the beer bottles, females on the phone.

Joe


Aww shucks, ya beat me to it! How you been, Joe? Ready for Spring? I know I am! Later, mj.

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greygoat

02-22-2008 06:54:23




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
Thanks people, this was an interesting forum.
I learn something here everyday.



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teddy52food

02-22-2008 06:53:46




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
Pick up the chick by the back of the neck(like a cat would carry a kitten) Watch how they struggle. The males will keep on struggling whereas the females will just struggle a bit & give up.



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jdemaris

02-22-2008 06:15:54




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
Hacteries used to (and maybe still do) have people trained to do it - it was called "venting." Basically, they take a little peak inside the important area, almost turning it inside out. Supposed to be 90% accurate and it's down with newly hatched chicks.

Can't say I've ever been trained to be a "venter" nor do I want to be.



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Larry59

02-22-2008 05:24:26




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
I was told that under the wings. You will see two layers of feathers. One above the other. This tells you it is a rooster. The female chicks have only one set of feathers.
Another and it sometimes depends on the type of chicken you have. The females will be lighter in color and the roosters will be a bit darker. This they say happens at early stage of live.



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Larry59

02-22-2008 05:28:06




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to Larry59, 02-22-2008 05:24:26  
There is one other way. You turn the chick up side down in your hand. Spread the recectom area open real easy. You will see what I call a small thorn like sticking up. This is a rooster. But you must be careful and not hurt the chick. You can find more on this on the web. Just search out raising chickens.



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jose bagge

02-22-2008 03:50:59




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
based on my time in the bars of DC, the only real way to tell if it's actually a female "chick" is to grab it by the crotch. Examination of the breats is often misleading.
Do it early before you buy it any drinks so there are no surprises later...



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MF Poor

02-22-2008 04:58:18




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to jose bagge, 02-22-2008 03:50:59  
So. How many did you guess wrong?



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Joe (Wa)

02-22-2008 02:13:59




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
Heck, that"s easy. Chickens like to get up on something to roost for the night.

You need a telephone, a 6 pack of beer, and a small wire cage about 2" x 3".

Open all the beer bottles and drink 1/2 of each, put them back in the carton and set it in one end of the cage. Set the telephone in the other end of the cage.

Wait until night, dump about a dozen chicks in the cage and turn off the lights.

Wait about 5 minutes and turn on the lights. Males are on the beer bottles, females on the phone.

Joe

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Walt Davies

02-21-2008 22:25:29




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
By the comb the roosters are larger at hatching and keep getting bigger.

when you them together its real easy to tell them apart.
Walt



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T_Bone

02-21-2008 21:57:14




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 Re: How do you tell the gender of chicks? (seriously) in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
Hi S.crum,

Back when I was raising rabbits, I took a load to a chicken proscessor. He was s3xing new hatch chicks while I was waiting.

He was looking at the underside of the wing feathers. He spread the feathers out between his thumb and fore finger and tossed them in a box.

He did several hundred chicks in the 1/2hr I was waiting. He stated he was 99% accurate using this method.

T_Bone



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Bob

02-21-2008 21:48:06




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 Why, check WIKI, of course! in reply to s.crum, 02-21-2008 21:39:03  
.



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36 coupe

02-22-2008 03:09:13




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 Re: Why, check WIKI, of course! in reply to Bob, 02-21-2008 21:48:06  
Hatchery I worked on used vent sexing.Black sex link chicks are easy,the males have a yellow spot on their heads.Women used to come in and do vent sexing ,they wore white uniforms.Owner hired a fellow that had spent some time in a mental hospital.He had to walk 2 miles to get home.He stayed at the hatchery in bad weather some nites.He would call home and tell his mother he would stay at the hatchery.He came down stairs early one morning ,took one look at the chick sexers in their white uniforms and ran out the door and down the road.He thought they were there to take him back to the funny farm.He made it about a mile before one of the farm workers caught up with him in the farm pickup.It took quite a while to convince him to go back to the hatchery.

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Bob

02-21-2008 21:49:35




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 Then, there's 'feather sexing'! in reply to Bob, 02-21-2008 21:48:06  
.



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rustyj

02-22-2008 09:53:02




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 Re: Then, there's 'feather sexing'! in reply to Bob, 02-21-2008 21:49:35  
I don't know about baby chicks, but my dear Grandma told me, when i was a kid, and saw her turning the kittens upside down and peering at them, that there was a label under there that told her what the gender of the kittn was! Fast forward 60 some years! My dear wife allowed as she'd like to have a MALE orange cat as a pet. So, off we went to a friends farm, to get a kitten. His kid brought in a box of kittens, and Ruth saw an orange one. She told my friend, if it was a male, she'd take it. He picked it up, peered at the "label" underneath, said it was a male! He then said he'd deliver it at the right time. So, he did. Ruth named the cat Fred. And, Fred grew and prospered. But, one day, i looked at the label, and decided somebody had made a mistake! But, my "all-knowing wife" said i was wrong! At the appropriate time, Ruth made an appointment to have Fred "fixed" and took him there on that day, then went shopping. About an hour later, the phone rang. It was the DRs' office, informing me that Fred wasn't a "Fred", Fred was a Fredrica-What did i want to do? I told them that my "All knowing" wife would decide that issue. And, when my AKW came home, she had to call them and ok the operation for Fred, and eat humble pie at home, since the "label" had been wrong, and i was right!

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DaveS

02-22-2008 16:49:44




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 Re: Then, there's 'feather sexing'! in reply to rustyj, 02-22-2008 09:53:02  
Thats funny



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