



One question I get asked fairly often is 'Is this a hen or a rooster?' with an accompanying photo of a baby chick. Generally, that's not an easy question to answer.





Of course you can always just guess. You've got a 50/50 chance at getting it right. Hatcheries have professional chick vent sexers who get it right more than 90% of the time, but for us backyard enthusiasts, chick vent sexing just isn't something we can do.



You can easily injure a chick if you don't know what you are doing, so that's best left to the professionals. Vent sexing involves squeezing the feces out of the chick, which opens up the chick's vent and lets the sexer see if the chick has a small "bump". Of course you can always just guess. You've got a 50/50 chance at getting it right. Hatcheries have professional chick vent sexers who get it right more than 90% of the time, but for us backyard enthusiasts, chick vent sexing just isn't something we can do.You can easily injure a chick if you don't know what you are doing, so that's best left to the professionals. Vent sexing involves squeezing the feces out of the chick, which opens up the chick's vent and lets the sexer see if the chick has a small "bump".





Males have bumps, females don't. I personally don't feel confident that I've guessed correctly until I either hear a crow (starting at around 10-12 weeks usually) or see an egg (starting at around 18+ weeks), but there are some who claim its possible to sex chicks using old-timers' methods. Here are some of the more popular ways:





1) EGG SHAPE





Some say that rounded eggs are hens and pointy, football-shaped eggs are roosters. I don't know that this has been scientifically proven, but if you have a choice and want hens, I say pick out the round eggs to hatch. Some say that rounded eggs are hens and pointy, football-shaped eggs are roosters. I don't know that this has been scientifically proven, but if you have a choice and want hens, I say pick out the round eggs to hatch.





2) INCUBATOR TEMPERATURE





It is said that setting your incubator temperature half a degree lower will It is said that setting your incubator temperature half a degree lower will result in hatching hens , while setting it half a degree higher will result in more roosters.



3) WING SEXING





Wing sexing can only be done within the first 48 hours of when the chick hatches. Hens' wing feathers are two different lengths while roosters' are the same length. This method is very accurate with some breeds.



4) COMB COLOR/SIZE

-girl on left, boy on right- -girl on left, boy on right-

Fairly early on, little roosters' combs will be larger and pinker than hens'. Even at six weeks old, in both photos you can clearly see the hen's comb (on the left) is much smaller and paler than her brother's (on the right). 5) LEG THICKNESS/SPURS

-little boy on the far right- Roosters' legs will begin to thicken fairly early on. Some breeds will even begin to grow tiny spurs on the back of each leg to help you identify your little roosters. Wing sexing can only be done within the first 48 hours of when the chick hatches. Hens' wing feathers are two different lengths while roosters' are the same length. This method is very accurate with some breeds.Roosters' legs will begin to thicken fairly early on. Some breeds will even begin to grow tiny spurs on the back of each leg to help you identify your little roosters.





6) HAT TRICK





Conventional wisdom says if you wave a hat above the chicks and then drop it, the hens will squat or run and hide while the roosters will stand alert and even look up at the sky.

My results were inconclusive with this test. One future roo did approach the hat, but the test was mostly met with indifference by the rest.

7) PENNY TOSS



It is said that if you rub a penny along the back of a chick and then toss it, if it comes up heads, that means you have a rooster, tails you have a hen. I did this test a few times on each chick and it came up randomly heads and tails, so I don't put too much stock in this method. Besides, the chicks just kept trying to eat the penny. 8) WATER TASTE TEST