Sexing week old chicks by examining wing pin feathers

[Maddison]

there's been talk around the online chicken community of a definite way to sex week old chicks by identifying pin feathers on wings, I'm very skeptical about this. I tried it on my first batch but by then they were too old to tell. so, I'm doing a little experiment with my next batch. I've set 22 eggs that are now on day 7, once they hatch I will wait till pin feathers on the wings form, I'll then try this method and mark the ones with food coloring on their heads to identify them (pink=girl blue=boy). if they turn out sexed to marked colors I will know for sure of a way to sex them.

keeping in mind I plan to only keep and raise the completely naked neck chicks and sell off the bowtie ones as I'm breading for the no bibbed ones, (might keep ones with one or two neck feathers) so its entirely dependent on how many naked necks I get, my last batch was 15 eggs & 6 duds with a total of 2 completely NN and 2 with two or three neck feathers, so I like my chances. this thread is mainly to document it for my own use, will update with progress in a few months and inbetween

 

[TheKindaFarmGal]

This method does work 100% of the time - when done correctly. The thing is that the slow feathering gene is sex linked, so if the father of the chicks is pure for rapid feathering and the mother is slow, then all male chicks will be slow feathering with primaries and coverts the same length, while the females will have longer primaries and shorter coverts. Chicks must be only 2-3 days old at most when you check their wings, but when done correctly with the right genetics, it is always right.

Hope your hatch goes well!

 

[Folly's place]

x2! It will only work if the parents carry the right genetics for this trait, otherwise it's random.
Mary

 

[lazy gardener]

You can read more about it in the "sex linked information" thread. It is an old wives tale that it can be done on all chicks. Other old wives tales: Picking a chick up by the head or the neck (please don't do this!) with the cockerel drawing his feet up, and the pullet dangling her feet. Dangling a ring over the chick and looking for the tell tale circle or back and forth swing.

Occasionally, there are subtle behavioral indications even from a very early age. And many breeds can be gender id. at hatch if it is a good strain, and the breeder knows what she is looking for.

 

[Maddison]

I really have no idea if they are sex-link. they're crossed with unknown breeds so

Edit: on top of that my last batch seem to be feathering at the same rate, however the ones that were hatched under a hen 2 feathered regular and one a week younger than them still looks 2 months old...

 

[Folly's place]

Sex linked traits are totally different, and expressed in chick color at hatching. Wing feather length is not the same at all.
Mary

 

[lazy gardener]

This method does work 100% of the time - when done correctly. The thing is that the slow feathering gene is sex linked, so if the father of the chicks is pure for rapid feathering and the mother is slow, then all male chicks will be slow feathering with primaries and coverts the same length, while the females will have longer primaries and shorter coverts. Chicks must be only 2-3 days old at most when you check their wings, but when done correctly with the right genetics, it is always right.

Sex linked traits are totally different, and expressed in chick color at hatching. Wing feather length is not the same at all.
Mary

While the common sex linking is done with feather color, it can also be done with fast/slow feathering, and even leg color. I had birds that gave me 2 generations that could be sexed b/c the males were all yellow shanked and the females were all willow shanked.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm trying to encourage my bantam EE group to have slate legs rather than willow, and I'd have a fit if all the females had willow! Mary

 

[junebuggena]

Sex linked traits are totally different, and expressed in chick color at hatching. Wing feather length is not the same at all.
Mary

There are several genes in chickens that are sexlinked. It's not just limited to plumage color.

I'm trying to encourage my bantam EE group to have slate legs rather than willow, and I'd have a fit if all the females had willow! Mary

The difference between slate and willow depends on the underlying skin color. Slate legged birds have white skin. Willow legged birds have yellow skin. The wash that gets overlaid on top of that skin color is sexlinked.

 

[lazy gardener]

The cross that produced those colors was female Pioneer with willow shanks. All the male Pioneers had yellow colored legs. In the next 2 generations, with EE (slate colored legs) x one Pioneer hen with willow colored legs, all of the chicks resulted in yellow shanked males, and willow shanked females. I guess that's not really sex linking, now that I look back on it. But, it sure was helpful.