BABY CHICK: WING SEXING
There are various traditional sexing methods to assist to identify male/ female chickens. Different methods are used based on breed, age, and comb types. Traditional sexing methods vary in percent of accuracy. While wing sexing can offer clues, it is often uncertain until crow or egg laying. Traditional sexing methods keep families searching for clues in the sexing mystery until crow or egg gifting. Investing in DNA sexing is the only truly accurate method.
Breeds that use this sexing method: Barred Plymouth Rock, Coronation Sussex, Rhode Island, Speckled Sussex, and Wyandotte
Not all breeds are able to be wing sexed. The gene must be bred in their DNA. The rate of feathering and plumage color is carried on the Z chromosome. When the primary feathers (bottom row closest to the wing’s edge) are longer than the coverts (top row of feathers), the chick is female. When the primary feathers are the same length or shorter than the converts, the chick is male.
Wing sexing has an accuracy rate of 80%, depending on the bloodlines. Once the newborn chick’s down dries, the coverts and primary feathers are examined. Sexing by the difference in the growth of the primary feathers is only possible before 3 days of age. After that, the cockerels’ wing feathers catch up with the pullets’ making sexing impossible.