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What happens if a chick I purchase from My Pet Chicken is incorrectly sexed?

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A hen and a rooster stand on a pile of straw

It's always disappointing when a bird isn't sexed correctly, especially if your "girl" ended up being a "boy" and was the family's favorite chick! Since chicken sexing is an art, not a science, sometimes errors do occur (though our professional chick vent sexers are correct more than 90% of the time).


1. We will refund you for any bird which has been incorrectly sexed, provided you notify us within the correct sexing error reporting time frame. Early or late reports can't be taken.

  • Sexing errors must be reported when the birds are 14 to 22 weeks old.
  • Sexing errors for Silkies only must be reported when the Silkies are 19 to 30 weeks old

Please note that not all roosters will start crowing within this time frame. Many times, a chicken's feather patterns is a more obvious sign. 

2. To make your report, contact us by phone, email, or chat.

3. Be sure to provide the name under which the order was placed, the email address you used for the order, or (preferably) your order number, so we will be able to assist you.

4. Finally, remember not to rehome your suspects early--we hear repeatedly from people who have rehomed their "roosters," only to later be disappointed to learn that "he" turned out to be a great layer--for someone else!


Not sure if you have an error or not?

 

Learn how to identify if a chicken is a rooster or a hen.

 

If you want to increase your odds of avoiding a sexing error, we recommend the chicken breeds listed below. These auto-sexing breeds are vent sexed but can also be told apart just by their feather colors. Â