How to sex a chick

 

No matter the breed, colour or size, everyone finds chicks extremely cute. Over the years, we have had people asking if certain chicks were male or female. 

There are several ways to differentiate:

• Autosexing breeds
• DNA tests:
• Buying from aa breeder, farmer or hatchery (though you may have to check theirreputation. 
• Wing and vent sexing
• Behaviour. 

Autosexing breeds

Autosexing breeds are pure breeds of pultry that have different coloured male and female chicks when they hatch They can range from a completely different leg colour, a slight lighter or darer colour or different markings. 

Personally we have legbars and wellsummers. We have found the legbars are th easiest to sex as noted on the photo below. 

Here is a list of the autosexing chicken breeds:

• Bielefelder Kenhuhn
• Brockbar 
• Brussbar 
• Buffbar
• Cambar  
• Cream legbar  
• Dorbar 
• Wellsummer. 

DNA test

As the title suggests, through a sample sent to laboratory, the sex is determined with 99% effectiveness. 

Personally, we have never used this type of service because we not find it necessary and also due to high cost. Unfortunately, I cannot give a more detailed or personal information/experience. 

Chick from breeder, farmer or hatchery

Despite this not being a way to sex chicks, it is the easiest one way to choose if you want males or females. 

It is always the best option to buy through a reputed breeder, farmer or hatchery. This way you can be sure you're buying healthy birds, with vaccines that are not available to everyone, and, most of the time, female chicks. In case you acquire, by error, a male chick, they tend to accept the chick back if you cannot keep it. 

Unfortunately there has been an increase in scams or non-experienced breeders, who kust want to reproduce their birds to earn more money, not caring about the breeding standards or animal welfare. In these cases, if you get a male chick, they are less likely to accept it back. 

Wing sexing

Wing sexing can be attempted on many breeds and hybrids. It takes a picky eye and, most people, find it difficult and give up. Slow growing dual purpose breeds are often the hardest to wing sex. Some males will feather quickly and some females will feather slowly, which just adds further confusion. 

It has been my experience that, in every hatch, around 1/3 of females will hatch with extra pin feathers and will, indeed, be females. The rest of the hatch is kind of an educated guess. 

Let me begin by saying this is not an easy skill to learn from pictures on a blog. It takes practice. It is also helpful to have a very picky eye because you are going to be looking for differences measured in mere millimeters. 

This also only works on chicks that are 48 hours old or less. By 3 days old, most chicks will wing sex as female. I have found wig sexing is best done between 12 and 24 hours of hatching, when the pin feathers, on the tip of the chick's wings, are clearly visible but have not started feathering out, which begins by day 3. Wing sexing is believed to be up 85%accurate but mistakes can be made, especially when sexing dual purpose breeds. 

Wing sexing is possible because female chicks grow feathers slightly faster than male chicks for the first week or two. Looking at wing tips of a 12 hours old female chick wil revel very long pin feathers with shorter pin feathers in between each long one in a long-short-long patern. It is the long pin feathers, not just the pattern, that identifies a female. 

To see the pin feathers, you must gently hold the downy fluff on the wind tip out od the way. A female's pin feathers will be easier to notice. 

Vent sexing

Vent sexing is the most accurate way to figure out if chicks will be hens or roosters. 

Most chicks hatcheries have professional chick vent sexers who get it right more than 90% of the time. For us, backyards enthusiasts, chick vent sexing just isn't something we can realistically do. 

You can easily injure a chick if you don't know what you are doing. Please, leave vent sexing to the professionals. For that reason, we will not explain how this is done in order to dis-encourage people from trying. 

Behaviour

From the first days of life, sex can be determined by behaviour and body language. When they become more active, around 5-6 days old life, the chicks begin to develop a complex system of socialisation and hierarchy, which they will use when they are older. 

I will try to show this in the pictures below.

Let's play a game. Do you think you can identify the sex of the 3 chicks, cockerels or pullets on the above pictures? Don't look at the answers before you have tried to guess.

HERE WE GO NOW 

Depending on the breed, the combs and wattles will develop faster and gain a reddish colour on males, who will also develop a spur on both feet. 

They will start small disputes between the males over the top of the hierarchy. If there is more than one male, one will be the dominant and then you will have a "second in command". The others will be excluded and it's possible you will see they are the bottom of the hierarchy because they will be bullied and will show themselves as submissive.

Hope this has been helpful. It you need more help, don't hesitate to contact us. 🐔

With love, from our team, 

FL Poultry

How To Choose The Perfect Chicken Breed For You (part 2)

 

On today's post, we will discuss the temperament, egg size and colour, pure breeds and hybrids and purpose.

Temperament

Every chicken is unique. Even within the same breed you can have different personalities. 

People generally prefer docile birds, that will not engage in fights with each other, will not attack the person looking after them, especially when getting their eggs. 

Chickens that have a bad temperament, are aggressive to each other and humans, also have higher level of stress. This will eventually translate into lower production rates. Skinnier birds that produce few eggs is no breeder's or keeper's dream. Make sure you choose good-natured birds. 

Docile birds need less space to live in, as they are not as territorial as aggressive birds. This means you can keep more chickens in the same area without risking their health. 

It will give you an increase in your financial gain and less time spent creating separate spaces for "angry birds".

In my experience, you can have soft breeds who will become very protective when they have chicks, for example the silkies; chickens who don't meddle in coop politics, like the leghorns; and chickens that can be really friendly towards people but will ensure the pecking order is maintained, like ISA browns.

But as mentioned before, every chicken is it's own bird, with their own experiences and personalities. 

Egg size and colour

If your choice is an egg-laying breed of chickens, make sure you research the type of eggs each breed lays, in term of colour and size, as well as average amount per year. For instance, if you know you love big brown eggs in their nests, make sure you do not pick a breed that lay small, white eggs. You would go for a wellsummer or cooper maran, rather than a leghorn bantam. 

Some of the egg colours we have in our flocks 
White from a leghorn; Blue from a legbar; Cream from a bluebell; Brown from a wellsummer

Also, the number of eggs each breed lays per reproductive cycle may matter to you. 

Some breeds lay up to 300 eggs per year, almost 1 egg per day. Other breeds will lay more eggs in the Spring, the rate will decrease in the Summer and Autumn and stop through the Winter time. 

As mentioned before, the chickens lay more eggs if there is more light, which will translate in a laying peak in late Spring.

General graphic of total monthly egg rate in 2022

The size of the eggs may also matter if you are planning to sell them. Usually, larger eggs come with a higher price tag. If you are looking to breed egg-laying hens for financial reasons, this is an important aspect to be taken into consideration. You may earn more money selling fewer eggs at higher price than by selling smaller eggs. 

In regards to egg laying reliability, in my experience, I always mention the white leghorns and bluebells. They tend to lay large eggs all year round, with maybe 2 months of rest after the age of 2 (for moulting).

Pure breeds or hybrids

Another question you have to ask yourself is whether you want to keep pure-breed chickens or hybrids. Both options come with advantages and disadvantages. 

Here you need to accurately evaluate if your interest is in show breeding or if you are breeding them for production purposes. You may also consider if you have a good poultry veterinarian around. 

Pure breed chickens come at a considerable higher price than hybrids do. They are usually best kept as show pets. Depending on the breed, they may be sensitive to certain weather conditions and their egg production is not that reliable. However, for a passionate chicken lover, they are a great asset, both in shows ad your backyard. 

Hybrids, on the other hand, have been selected to be resistant to disease and weather conditions. They have also been specialised inproduction, either meat or eggs. This way, when choosing a hybrid chicken, you know it will give satisfying production rates, while not eating more than the average chicken does. 

The fact that hybrids have been selected over time to be quite resistant to many diseases comes as a plus because this means less money spent on veterinarian check-ups and treatments. It also means less money lost throughout the reproduction cycle, keeping the financial balance on the positive path. 

Meat, eggs or pets

We know this is not always a pleasant topic for everyone but it is important if you are looking into self-sustenance. 

You should ask yourself if you are looking for a breed of egg-laying chickens, if you want chickens to feed the family or sell, or if you want a friend who will steal your treats (and a couple of fingers in the process).

Of course, hens that are raised for meat purposes will also lay eggs, but the egg production is considerably lower that in the case of egg-laying hens. 

On the other hand, you can eat hens that are designed to produce many eggs per cycle, but there will not be an impressive amount of meat on the plate, as they are genetically programmed to stay fit and lay eggs, not to get fat. This is why it's of the most importance to correctly set the type of breed you are looking for from the very beginning. 

Some people choose to have roosters as they are bigger and, obviously, do not produce eggs. Just keep in mind you cannot keep many roosters in the same enclosure as they will start fighting each other. 

Very important: in many cities, roosters are not allowed (due to noise). Research the noise constrictions and animal welfare in your area, before you decide to grow roosters. 

If you are looking into selling poultry meat, check the legal requirements in terms of growth, health and cull. 

Sorry for the long post but hope you have found it helpful. 

With love, from out team, 

FL Poultry

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To Choose The Perfect Chicken Breed For You?

 

    I just want to start by saying this: there are no bad chickens. You only have to take into consideration a few factors, such as:

• Housing conditions;
• Weather and light conditions;
• Feeding requirements;
• Breed temperament;
• Size (bantam or large fowl);
• Preference for egg colour;
• Time you are willing to expend with them;
• What will their porpouse be (pet, eggs or meat).

On today's post we will discuss the housing conditions, weather, light conditions and feeding requirements. 

(the other factors will be discussed at a later date)

For the housing conditions you can offer your future birds, you need to take into consideration the space you are able to provide, weather conditions in your area, day light time, type of terrain and the diet you will provide your chickens with. 

It is no secret the best conditions will bring more happiness and better health to your birds. 

Each chicken breed has specific space requirements, depending on their size, temperament and production. Make sure you research all that before making your choice. 

Overcrowding will lead to stress, feather plucking, infections, reduced egg production and, in some cases, cannibalism.

Weather conditions also have a major impact on the overall health and well being of these birds. Make sure the breed of your choice fits well with the climate in your area. 

Extreme cold or heat will become stress factors, which will translate into a considerable decrease in production rates, thus financial loss

There are also breeds that need more shelter from the elements (rain, wind, cold) than other, like silkies. 

Chickens are light-dependent animals.

When exposed to light for longer period of time, they will produce more eggs, eat more and gain more weight. If you live in an area where it gets dark quickly, you will need to provide them with a few hours of artificial light every day, which will substantially increase your keeping costs.

You can also choose to let the chickens regulate themselves according to the day light time and season, which will give them time to moult and get some rest from egg laying. 

There are many elements that need to be a part of your chicken’s daily diet, such as corn, wheat, sunflower seeds, greens, minerals, grit, proteins and more. 

The ideal situation is for them to be raised in a free-range system, which would be cheaper for you. 

You always need to ensure you provide them with a nutritional feed and let them choose what they want to eat. 

However, if this is not possible, make sure you provide them with all the much-needed elements for them to thrive.

In my case, I live in the middle of city, and all my neighbours have dogs and cats. To protect my flocks they are in a safe run. They choose when to eat, lay eggs and go back to the coop. I do not provide them with artificial light and, in the winter, when it gets dark at 3 pm, they sleep for longer and their egg production decreases. I also give them protein rich pellets, egg shells, different vegetables, corn, seeds and, when they are moulting, fish and scrambled eggs (for extra protein).

Hope you have found this post helpful. 🐔

With love, from our team, 

FL Poultry

Who are we?

Hi everyone. 

Our name is FL Poultry, as you may have noticed. 

We have been raising chickens in Scotland for 5 years. And during that time we have learned so much. 

We have been thinking about sharing the knowledge we have acquired through the years, either by interacting with the chickens or by formal learning experiences. 

We do not consider ourselves specialists but hope to help people looking for more information, in order to improve the life of their birds. 

Now, more personally, we are a couple, surrounded by animals. We have our chickens, both hens and roosters, ring neck pheasants, red golden pheasants, budgies, lovebirds, fishes (best behaved beings in our house, a turtle and dogs. 

With so many beings to look after, our life is busy but we are so glad to have the oportunity to share some of it with all of you. 

Hope you enjoy and find this blog helpful. 

If you want, you can leave a comment or message and we will get back at you as soon as possible. 

With love, from our team, 

FL Poultry