How do I know if my chicks are cockerels or hens?
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My chicks are about three weeks old, can anyon tell me anything thing I should look for, to predict the sex?
Here are a couple links for you. Baby chicks are just darling!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_sexing
http://countrysidenetwork.com/daily/poultry/chickens-101/how-to-tell-the-sex-of-baby-chicks/
Sadly sexing chicks is so difficult. At about ten weeks the cockerels will begin play fighting and they may set larger combs than the hens earlier. I have Jersey Giants and mine are about fourteen weeks old and I still am not sure. The Jerseys are a more laid back bird and are not as aggressive as other breeds. I think I have two males out of nine but only time will tell.
According to my friend who raises chicken it really hard to tell when they are chicks..She will go buy chicks and tell the breeder she want hens and a lot of times the hens turn out to be roosters...lol..
It totally depends on the breed. Some chicks are what is called "auto-sexed" meaning you can tell from birth. I am currently brooding 5 Brown Speckled Sussex that I incubated and trying a method that, for their breed, is usually on spot. You can try it with yours and if it is consistent you will know for sure. Pick each one up gently by the scruff of the neck, as you would a cat. If it draws it's legs up to it's body it is a female. If it dangles them straight down it is a roo. Some chicks can be sexed before 48 hours of age (too late on yours) by looking at the feather pattern. Again, it totally depends on the breed.
Depending on the breed of chick you can either vent sex or wing sex the chicken to know whether it is male or female --- below is a video telling how to tell with a young chick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApFqMLWJSqs
...and this shows how at about 3:25 on the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zbkkkn_PxE
Hope this has helped you .... thanks for using Hometlak for answers ;)
Another method I've heard of and tested is to hold the chick by the feet and hang upside down. The hens may fuss for a little bit, but then will hang limp. The roosters will continue trying to get upright.
Z