Last Updated on February 22, 2022 by AwesomeChickens
When you have a new flock of baby chicks it is exciting and important to learn whether you will have a male chick or female chick running around. It will help determine who you want to keep, who you want to sell, or how to house them. The trouble for most, though, the problem is how to determine gender.
There are few methods used frequently in sexing baby chicks, with the most popular one being “venting.” Venting is done to open the chicken’s anal vent to look for the chicken’s cloaca. If there is a bump, it’s more likely you have a male chick.
To find out more on how to vent a chicken and other ways to determine whether your young birds are male or female, then read on. We will give you step-by-step instructions on how to sex chickens with helpful information regarding this topic.
Table of Contents
What Does it Mean to Sex a Chicken?
This is a method to determine if the baby chickens that have recently hatched are male or female. There are a few different methods used, and each chicken owner will swear by theirs.
It is defiantly not an easy task, and unless you are a professional, you may not get it right every time.
3 Great Ways to Sex Chicks and How to do it
There are many ways to determine the sex of chickens, some more reliable than others. Here are the top 3 ways that will give you the best results.
Venting Chickens (Vent Sexing Chicks)
Venting is the most popular and reliable way to determine if you have a hen or rooster joining your flock. Unfortunately, it is not the easiest task to do and can even be dangerous for your young birds if not done carefully and correctly.
- Carefully hold the baby chicken upside down ensuring there is no way it can wiggle or fall.
- Now pinch or squeeze softly at the chicken’s vent, expelling any feces and opening the hole to expose the sex organs.
- Check the cloaca for a small bump. If there is a bump in the area you are more than likely looking at a rooster.
This process is a very delicate and dangerous one to use. If you squeeze too hard you can injure or even kill the chicken. It is usually best to leave it up to the professionals or get training in how to do it properly before trying it alone.
This is one of the more frequent methods used by hatcheries and large farms, but even they, at times, will get it wrong.
Wing Sexing Chicks
Another good way to determine a baby chicken’s sex is by observing the wing feather. More times than not a baby hen is going to start developing her wing feather before she even exists the egg.
- After the chicken hatches, open its tiny wing very carefully. Being too rough can permanently damage the chick’s wing.
- Check the wing for signs of incoming feathers (Hens feathers will be more noticeable)
- Check the feather lengths (Hens will have different-sized feathers, roosters will have feathers all the same size.
You will want to do this very soon after the chicks have hatched as feathers grow in very quickly, and you only have a short time to check them out before they all start to look the same.
This method is almost as accurate as vent sexing a chicken and is less invasive, less messy, and a lot less uncomfortable.
Behavior Sexing Chicks
It is no secret that male chickens are a lot more aggressive than their female chicken counterparts. When trying to determine if your chicks are soon to be roosters or hens, you should start watching their behavior for a few weeks after they are born.
If you have little ones being violent towards one another, like slamming into each other or excessively pecking at each other, you probably have growing male chickens.
Females will be a lot less hostile and much more tolerant of one another and usually will not attack the other chicks in the coop.
3 Ways You Should Never Rely on for Sexing
Are there male embryos or female embryos? You will hear many people, especially older generations of backyard chicken owners, discuss some odd and random ways to determine the sex of a chicken while they are still in their egg. These ways are as good as guessing and are not reliable in any way.
The Shape of the Egg
One old wives’ tale is that you can determine the sex of a chick by the size and shape of the egg. It has been said that female chickens’ eggs will be shorter and rounder, while male eggs are taller and narrower.
We’re not sure where this came from. However, it is defiantly not a good way to tell what sex is going to be hatching.
The Candle Trick
Another inaccurate way of checking the sex of a baby chick is by peering inside the eggshell. With the light from a candle held close and under the egg itself, people believe they can determine gender. While this is a great way to watch your bird’s growth, you won’t be able to determine sex.
The String Method
There is another myth floating about saying that you can tell the sex of a chick by swinging a small weight over the egg to see which direction it moves in. If it swings around in a circle, your having a girl. In a straight line, a boy.
I believe it goes without saying, none of these methods hold very much water and are as accurate as flipping a coin. They can be fun to experiment with, though.
Our Final Thoughts
There is no 100% full-proof way to determine the gender of a baby chick. Even the most experienced professionals will get it wrong from time to time. However, the options listed above are some of the best ways to get the closest possible prediction on whether your chick will grow into a hen or rooster.
