How to tell chickens from cockerels? day old chicks

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

All little chickens look exactly the same. Distinguishing chickens from cockerels in appearance is extremely problematic. However, several fairly accurate special methods for determining the sex of chicks still exist. About which ones, and we'll talk later in the article.

The old method

So, how do you tell a day-old cockerel chick from a hen? This can be done, for example, in the same way that has long been used in Russian villages. This method is a little rough and not very accurate. But you can still try to determine the sex of the chick in this way. You just need to take the chicken by the legs and lift it into the air. It is believed that the cockerels hang calmly at the same time. The hens are trying to take the correct position in space, pulling their heads forward.

You can try to use the softer way. To do this, the chicken is simply placed on its back on the palm so that its head is left without support. The hen, as in the first case, will pick it up, and the cockerel will “drop” it back. Of course, in this case, as in the previous one,torment too long the chick is not worth it.

There is one more answer to the question of how to distinguish chickens from cockerels. The chick must be carefully taken by the “shoulders” of the wings with both hands and slightly lifted into the air. It is believed that the hens at the same time begin to quickly sort out their legs. The cockerels just hang quietly.

All these methods are not too complicated, but, unfortunately, not particularly reliable. The percentage of sex determination of chicks when using them is low.

How to distinguish chickens from cockerels: a modern way

Abroad in poultry farms, where chicks are usually sorted on the first day after hatching, a fairly simple, gentle and at the same time quite accurate method is used to determine the sex. It consists in the fact that the wing is pulled back to the chicken and the feathers are examined. If two of their rows, located at different levels, are clearly visible, then this is a chicken. If all feathers are the same length - cockerel.

Sex determination in large chicks

Now let's see how to check a chicken (a cockerel or a hen walks around your yard) if he has already grown up. Everything is quite simple here. Experienced farmers believe that in the first weeks, hens grow a little faster than males. Over time, the situation is changing. Cockerels catch up and overtake hens. Some homeowners also determine the sex of the chicks by the growth rate of the tails. It is believed that in chickens it begins to grow much faster - within a few days after hatching. Cockerelsget them only after a couple of weeks.

How to find out the sex before hatching

It is believed that it is completely impossible to determine who will subsequently emerge from the egg - a hen or a cockerel. However, some farmers sometimes manage to increase the percentage of chicks of the desired sex. In order to determine who will subsequently hatch in an incubator or under a chicken, you should carefully examine the egg. Many experts do not advise taking for breeding those in which the air chamber is not located in the center of the blunt end, but is shifted. Meanwhile, some homeowners who breed laying hens, on the contrary, prefer to lay just such eggs in the incubator. Of course, they take only those in which the camera is slightly shifted. It is believed that chickens are mainly hatched from such eggs. How true this is is unknown. Maybe it's just pure luck.

Also, to determine the sex of the future chicken, you can examine the sharp end of the egg. According to some farmers, if it has tubercles or, even better, a protruding calcareous ring encircling it, it is likely that the chicken will hatch.

Caring for newborn chicks

So now you know how to tell the difference between hens and cockerels. Now let's figure out how to properly care for chicks. This is not technically difficult, but very responsible. This is especially true for newborn babies.

Chicks first day afterdrying in an incubator at poultry farms and on large farms is placed in a special nursery. Homeowners usually put the hatched chicks simply in cardboard boxes. During this period of their life, babies need to be given maximum attention. First, they should be provided with round-the-clock lighting. Secondly, raise the air temperature to 30-32 degrees. To do this, you can put a plastic bottle with heated water or sand in a box, or use an ordinary incandescent light bulb as a heater. On large farms, the required temperature in the nursery is maintained with the help of special equipment. Keep it at a level of 30-32 degrees should be the entire first week. The same goes for 24/7 lighting.

Care for day-old chicks

Some farmers believe that chicks should be fed the first day after birth. Others advise to wait a day. The fact is that after leaving the egg, the body of the chickens has enough of the nutrients that they received while still inside. Stock runs out after 24 hours. After this time, it is necessary to feed and drink the kids. For both broiler chicks and laying hens, it is best to use a special mix "Start" (corresponding to the variety).

You can also feed the chicks with the usual boiled egg and millet. After a couple of days, they usually begin to give cottage cheese.

Drinkers for chicks should be used special. Ordinary small chickens can climb into or simply fall and get wet. This is often the cause of death.chicks. The fact is that when the feathers get wet, a strong hypothermia of the baby's body occurs. This is especially true for broilers. If you overlook a wet chick, you need to dry it as soon as possible and place it in the warmest possible place.

Five to 10 day old chicks

From the seventh day, the air temperature in the box can be reduced to 28 oC. The "home" of babies during this period should be illuminated at least 17-18 hours a day. They are still fed with finely crushed cereals, cottage cheese and greens. It would be nice to add carrots to the diet. At the age of five to ten days, chickens can already be taught to the street. Of course, only if the weather permits. The chicks are taken out of the house right in the box and left for a while in the yard.

Further care

From the age of ten days, chickens are given fish or slaughter waste. They are especially useful for broilers. A box with chicks during this period should be illuminated for about 14 hours a day. The most comfortable temperature for chickens older than ten days is 20-24 degrees. Laying hens at this time can be left outside for the whole day and brought home only at night. The chicks are later transferred to a dedicated shed.

From the age of twenty days, laying hens usually begin to give mash (at lunch) and cereals (morning and evening). Broiler chickens at this time should already receive boiled mashed potatoes (in smallquantities), fresh cottage cheese, buttermilk, etc. That is, chickens are gradually transferred to an adult diet.

Features of keeping broilers

The main goal of farmers in this case is the rapid weight gain of chickens. Therefore, most of the poultry diet should be cereals (at least 50%). You should also limit the movement of chickens. They are not released for walking, unlike laying hens. The dimensions of the room in which broiler chickens will be kept should be such that each individual has about 60 cm of space. Very often, such chicks are grown not by the floor method, but in cages. In this case, the air temperature in the barn should be 2-4 degrees higher than recommended.

Since broilers are often not particularly resistant to diseases, the room intended for chickens must be disinfected before they are “populated”. Of course, a similar procedure will not interfere with the breeding of laying hens. Caring for chickens also lies in the fact that the birds of both directions of productivity are necessarily given mineral supplements. It can be, for example, ash or ground egg shells. It is worth placing containers with small pebbles around the barn. Fish oil is often used as a vitamin supplement, especially when breeding broilers.

Well, we figured out how to distinguish chickens from cockerels. Of course, it is quite difficult to determine with accuracy the sex of a baby that has emerged from an egg. But in any case, no matter how many chickensand cockerels are not hatched in the incubator, you need to monitor and care for them as carefully as possible.