[dubie]

my chicks came out of the incubator 10 days ago they are feeding well (almost to much weve used nearly 3 kg of food already and thers only 8 of them, eat more than me) now we need to know how many cocks weve got as weve already got a cock but hes not producing so he needs to go, thanks for any tips

[daddymatty82]

what breed are they? that may help. something called carding i have heard of but i not seen it in action before so dont know if it works

[dubie]

don't know what breed as they came from my aunti's school science project, it was either a battery farm or us, no competition there then.

[shetlandpaul]

the wing feathers are petty good but only in the first few days.

[BlueDaisy]

If you don't know the breed or the colour of the parents then the only foolproof way to tell the sex is to wait until the boys start crowing and the girls start laying

[Sylvia]

There is, supposedly, a way of sexing young birds by the neck feathers. Apparently the hackles on a pullet are rounded and on a cockerel, pointed. I've only found this to be at best uncertain and at worst a load of baloney! I tried it on a batch of growers last year and found they all had pointy hackles, most of them were pullets!
The difference may, of course, be so subtle that it takes an expert eye to spot it, but I think in future I'll wait until the difference is obvious

[bamford6]

scrap the idea you have get some sex linct hens or build a new lot round whot you have 6 light Sussex 1 road island cock light 1s cocks darker hens sorted .or get some sext black rocks blue bells etc

[Roxy]

Maran cockerels are light and pullets dark.  I have some wyandotte banties, really pleased with two nice grey ones, cos they were dark I thought they were pullets .....oh, oh,.....they are crowing, so that idea was just wishful thinking.

[lilac-unicorn]

hi
   get a sewing needle and thread and hold it above each chick, if it sways its a boy if circles its a girl always works for me when i do it to eggs to see if they are fertile.
   been correct 99.9 %.

[Roxy]

I will definitely try that method - anything to help reduce cockerel numbers.

[Sylvia]

hi
   get a sewing needle and thread and hold it above each chick, if it sways its a boy if circles its a girl always works for me when i do it to eggs to see if they are fertile.
   been correct 99.9 %.

That does work but what will you do with the boys? I find it easier to dispatch cockerels at sixteen to eighteen weeks than as tiny chicks.

[lilac-unicorn]

glad that some of you agree o/h thinks im doolally  but it can be done on eggs so hopefully this reduces  cockerals at the onset. let us know  your outcome when you try this method please .

[Roxy]

I would rather know at the egg stage.  A lot of my hatchings are bantams, so even at 16 weeks they are not worth killing to eat .....and I cannot bring myself to dispose of them for nothing....seems a shame, and wastefui

[princesspiggy]

im sure the feather test has to done on a certain day or it doesnt work. it can take a good 9 mths for ours to start crowing but then gives you plenty of winter roasties. can u not sex a chicken like u do a quail? iv never tried.

[OhLaLa]

I can tell by looking at them but unlikely you are near.