How do I sex 3 week old chicks

[Mrs Sparkle]

I have just got a mother hen and her 4 chicks.How do I fined out what I have got?

[Glutton4...]

Well, I was under the impression, from the way their feathers grew, that I had six Hens and four Cocks. That was at three weeks. They are now eight weeks, and two of the Hens are Cocks, I'm sure.

So, I'm gonna wait until they lay an egg, or start to crow. Then they'll go in with the others, or in the freezer.

[Mrs Sparkle]

|Guess I will have to wait a few weeks.I had 2 yellow chicks and 2 Brown,wonder if that means anything.

[Nicos]

Do you know what breed they are??

[Mrs Sparkle]

No but the mother is very big and dark read colour with black at the end of her tail if that helps.

[petal]

the colour only means something if you use a certain cockerel with a certain hen - eg a rhode island red with light sussex hen = all white chicks are male all brown female.
you will notice females feather up much more quickly, males sound more petulant and stand taller, comb growth is quicker on a male, shine a torch in the dark and the males appear more glossy ...

[RichmondHens]

Take some pics and get them on here and then we can all have a go at sexing them for you.

[Mrs Sparkle]

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[Scarlet]

I haven't a clue really, bit young for me. But my kids always throw a paper airplane over ours - the ones that duck are girls and the ones that stand up and look are boys. On that theory the middle one is a boy and the other two are girls

[Mrs Sparkle]

not very good at putting photos on,if you scrol to the right there is another pic of them a few weeks older but its a bit small. think I will have another go.

[Mrs Sparkle]

[Scarlet]

Sorry - still none the wiser but i would guess the cream one in the middle pic with the mum is a boy, just because of his stance.

[RichmondHens]

Mum looks like a Rhode Island Red - are the chicks pure breed do you know or cross breed? The stripey ones look like Welsummers but not pure. If these grow black breast feathers they are boys, lighter brown will be girls. I agree with Scarlet - the pale one standing in front of Mum in the middle picture has a cocky look. In the last picture they look like they are feathering up with Rhodie colouring but again possibly not pure.

The only way to tell for sure is to wait for their combs to develop - any hint of a bigger comb and it will be a boy. They will also start to look taller and leggier than the girls.

[Mrs Sparkle]

The 2 brown ones had shorter wing feathers when I got them at 3 days old and I had read that that indicates boys not too sure know.Think mum is a Rhode Island Red but the Father is a mistery.I will have to keep watching and waiting,might put some moor pictures on,they are about 5 weeks old know and wondering about my garden.

[Hilary B]

It's lack of TAIL feathers at 3 days that tends to mean it's a boy, but until they are showing comb, or proper neck feathers (boys have pointier neck hackles), all clues are only 'probably', and even then, you can't be TOTALLY sure until they either crow or lay an egg (apart from some of the breeds/crosses which are 'colour-coded' and this group obviously aren't that type).
The Mum they are with isn't necessarily their 'real' Mum. The eggs she hatched may not have been all her own....