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How to Sex a Day Old Chicken

Sexing newborn chicks is done commercially by skilled, experienced specialists who can process hundreds of birds in an hour, at a fraction of a second each. There are only two reliable ways to sex day-old birds. The first is to deliberately cross two breeds in such a way that they can be visibly differentiated by their plumage, a process called sex-linking. The second is to hold each chick upside down and manually inspect their sexual organs, a process called vent-sexing. This technique is much more difficult for the novice.

Things You'll Need

Easily sterilized work surface
Tissues

Instructions

Feather Sexing Sex-Linked Chicks
- 1
  Hold the day-old chick gently in your non-dominant hand. Do this over an easily sterilized surface, as many of the chicks will leave droppings on your work area.
- 2
  Grasp the wingtip in your dominant hand. Gently fan the feathers at the wingtip, holding them in place with your thumb and forefinger.
- 3
  Examine the feathers at the wingtip. If the outer primary feathers are longer, and the downy insulating feathers are shorter, you are holding a female. If the outer primary feathers and downy insulating feathers are the same length, you are holding a male.
- 4
  Compare color. In some cases, sex-linked crosses can be differentiated by the color of the chicks' down.
Vent-Sexing Chicks
- 5
  Gently hold the chick upside down in your non-dominant hand. Professionals will squeeze out the chicks' embryonic droppings with a gentle pressure from their thumb, but this requires long practice. Home hobbyists can simply wipe the area with tissues, to avoid injuring the chicks.
- 6
  Spread the vent area with the thumb and forefinger of your dominant hand.
- 7
  Examine the inside of the vent. Males have a rudimentary sexual organ visible, a small transparent bulb. If this is absent, you are usually looking at a female.

Animals & Science