Feather Sexing: Why it Won't Work
Back to blog
Going to the feed store with my daughter to see the chicks in the spring is a favorite past time with her. Occasionally, we see a new breeds we're interested in taking home with us. The signage often contains vital information about the chicks that help us decide which to take home. To us these details hold familiarity, but for some people these terms can be confusing and bear some explaining.
[caption id="attachment_4240" align="aligncenter" width="272"]
8 Week Old Buff Brahma Cockerel. He was purchased as a Straight Run chick.[/caption]
Here are the terms you'll see when looking for your chicks and what they mean:
Feather sexing a Buff Brahma Bantam at 3 days old.[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_4238" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
Feather sexing a Mille Fleur D'uccle at 3 days old.[/caption]
Of course not. You have a 50% chance of being right, based on those feathers. Feather growth is different between breeds, and even in birds of the same breed with different parental genetics. As I found out, feather sexing didn't do me a lot of good. Chances are, the chicks you're getting for your backyard flock just don't have the genetic make up to have this method work. Flip a coin---that method would work just as well as trying to feather sex in this context!
My dear old farming friend still sits up our feed store on occasion and makes himself available to dish out advice to anyone who is willing to listen. I sure do enjoy his animated stories, and his classic farming notions... but I still don't let him pick out our chicks.

- Pullets: Young females sexed by the hatchery, can be 1 day old to under 1 year to use this term.
- Mixed Pullets: Females of different breeds, including hybrids sexed by the hatchery
- Straight Run: Unsexed chicks including a mix of males and females. These were never sexed by a professional.
- Cockerels: Young males sexed by the hatchery. Ages from 1 day old to under 1 year use this term.

