How To: Sexing Chicks
Have you ever wondered how to tell the gender of your baby chick?
Sometimes at our store, we have what they call a "straight run" of chicks. That means that the hatchery sends unsexed chicks. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to sex 1-day old chicks, we can tell you how:
Spread the chick's wing out like a fan.
Look at the feathers on the outer joint. The bottom row of feathers are primaries, the top row of feathers are coverts.
When the bottom row (primaries) of feathers is longer than the top row (coverts), the chick is female.
When the bottom row (primaries) of feathers is the same length or shorter than the top row (coverts), the chick is male.