Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
you do not want to keep a hen past her egg-laying years, which is about five years, you can
give her away as a pet, donate her to a farm, or butcher her for her meat. If roosters are
butchered, they usually are butchered as cockerels for the young meat. Compared to roosters,
hens have better meat for eating.
Chicken sexing
In new and young chicks, it is difficult — if not impossible — to determine their sex until
they mature. Some breeds have markings or distinctive colors that help identify gender much
earlier than with other birds. Some chicks are hard to identify, and you may not be able to
identify the chicken's sex at all. Even experienced chicken owners have difficulty at times de-
termining the sex. Do not get frustrated, and understand that this is a hard process. If you
really must know the sex of your chick, and you are not able to do it on your own, consider
taking it to a local hatchery or farm and asking for assistance.
When you ordered your fertile eggs, you may have specifically requested hens or roosters.
Keep in mind that one rooster is all you need for a flock. If you ordered a mixture of eggs and
are unsure of the sex of the chicks, you can use a process called
sexing
to tell whether your
bird is a hen or rooster. The first way is called
vent sexing
; the other is called
feather sexing
.
Either method can be done as early as 1 day old, but it is not an easy process because a
chick's sexual organs are inside its body, and someone with little or no experience should not
do sexing
Vent sexing
Vent sexing is difficult for the novice chicken owner but can be learned. The best way to start
out is to purchase already-sexed chicks and practice on them. Always remember that you need
to handle these are delicate babies with care. To vent sex a chick, it must be between 12 and
36 hours old. The vent is harder to open after the first 36 hours of life, and the process could
hurt the chick. Use clean hands with short fingernails. Have bright lighting so you will be able
to see the tiny opening.
Hold the chick in your left hand on its back with the rump away from you. The legs should be
between the first and second fingers of your left hand. Place one thumb on either side of the
vent and apply light pressure. You will need to roll the skin away on each side of the vent.
Warning: This may cause the chick to poop. Just clean up and try again.
