How to sex week old Light Sussex chicks?

Can you sex week old chicks by their tail feathers? Do female feathers grow faster? Here are some pictures of the chicks.
Thanks for your time.
Kimball

Okay... I've been doing this thing with the wings I read about. I have all the 'males' marked to see how accurate I am.

If the wings FAN out in a clean line, female. If they are jagged, or come out with the long wing tips and short inner feathers (technical terms, I know, I know), male.



Based on what I can see from their wings, top would be female, bottom would be male. If it's right. See how the bottom one is also slower to feather? That's also, supposedly, a sign of a boy.

I know my line of LSussex I had many years ago, could be feather sexed.

coopslave wrote:I know my line of LSussex I had many years ago, could be feather sexed.

Am I right how I put it? Boy = slow to feather?

Sweetened wrote:

coopslave wrote:I know my line of LSussex I had many years ago, could be feather sexed.

Am I right how I put it? Boy = slow to feather?

Yes

coopslave wrote:

Sweetened wrote:

coopslave wrote:I know my line of LSussex I had many years ago, could be feather sexed.

Am I right how I put it? Boy = slow to feather?

Yes

Phew!

Sexing chicks that are not sex linked can always be tricky, telling the boys from the girls at a young age can be difficult.

For myself when I am sexing chicks I am not personally looking at feathering at that young of an age. When chicks are at least a week or two old I been finding the easiest way to tell them apart is by cranial structure or skull shape.

In my experiences with raising both the orps and the Sussex I have noticed putting the plumage aside, I can more or less tell the sex based on the skull shape. For the most part I have been spot on with a few mistakes.

I have noticed that the boys have a much longer and wider flatter cranial structure to them.
While the girls have a more rounded shape, like a tear drop.

Looking at the pics your top, more feathered chic in pic one will be a hen. Noticed the rounder shaped skull. Smaller rounder eyes. Narrower across the top part of the skull.

The second will be s boy,
He has a much more pronounced skull shape, almost eagle like in a way. The shape looks wide across the top, narrower and more pronounced in the back.


This is just my theory, I am planning on documenting my findings this year when I start hatching.

Sweetened what breeds are you feather sexing? There are apparently only certian ones where is remotely accurate.

fuzzylittlefriend wrote:Sweetened what breeds are you feather sexing? There are apparently only certian ones where is remotely accurate.

Muts

Why are you feeding your chicks tomato sprouts?

There was great discussion some long time ago about the fast and slow feathering gene, I believe it was made by ipf and many others contributed to it. For sure, some breeds, the light Sussex and light brahma are two that I can think of, that can be feather sexed. I also find that the blue and splash cochins can be feather sexed, most of the time, but the blacks, a mystery until about 6 weeks of age, most times, other times, can be early sexed too. I have now and then when sexing blue and splash cochins thought the gender was correct, until about 6 weeks of age, when that sexing was inaccurate. I do not sex cochins now until they are about 5-6 weeks old. Mistakes can be made. Critical mistakes.

Buff orpingtons are slow and fast feathering. I have found that MOST females feather out very fast, like within a week, huge differences. BUT on the other hand I have had a slow feathering female come about, which I thought was a cockerel. I do not feather sex buff orpingtons now until about 5-6 weeks old. Had I used that method of the slow and fast feathering and not kept cockerels, I would have lost many a pullet. They cannot be accurately feather sexed until older, as I said. My experience, others may feel differently. I'm with you Jonny on what your observation is. For sure with the buff orpingotns anyways, the females do indeed have a much more round looking heads, boys are more pinheads, smiling (a little tease on boys here).

I truly believe that light Sussex, as Coopslave too said, can be feather sexed, probably at even a few days old. I do not trust feather sexing with cochins nor buff orpingtons until they are past their third week in life. Then pretty much clear who is who in that zoo. Have an awesome day, CynthiaM.

I would like to thank every one that posted!! Thanks.
So I went looking around and I found a site that had lots of good information.
Here is the link.
http://www.ca.uky.edu/smallflocks/sex_linked_crosses.html

I was looking around and found this web page.
http://home.comcast.net/~terrychinn/poultry_sorters/WattsPub_article.html

I think these birds are pullets?
Small pail color comb's and wattles.





Think these are cockeral's?
Larger size with brighter comb's and wattles.





So what do you think? Post it up.
Thanks
Kimball[img][/img]

Oh absolutely the last ones are cockerels. Look at the pretty little red wattles showing on the bottom of the head, for sure!! I have buff orpingtons that are 4 weeks old today. The males are showing about the same size red little wattles and the cochin boys are too. They look pretty much the same size as yours development. For sure, boys. The girls won't have those pretty red wattles showing under their face like you see in the male pictures. I still think that is the cutest set up for the chicks to feed. Funny as all get out to see them poking their heads through!! Have an awesome day, CynthiaM.

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So, is 4 weeks the best age to tell the sexes apart via wattles, then?