How to Determine the Gender of a Chicken

Determining the gender of a chicken at an early age is important because female chickens produce eggs and male chickens produce meat. Sexing day-old chickens is not easy due to the fact that the sex organs are located inside the body of the chicken. Here are a few steps to determine the gender of a chicken.

Instructions

    • 1

      Place the chicken, upside down, in the palm of your hand with the chicken's head towards you.

    • 2

      Gently place your thumb and first 2 fingers around the chicken's thighs to hold it. Be sure not to put too much pressure on the chicken. Rub the chicken's belly to calm it down.

    • 3

      Tilt your hand upward so the vent (anus) is towards you. Use your thumb and forefinger, on the other hand, and gently apply a rolling pressure to invert the vent.

    • 4

      Look for the eminence or genital organ, found midway on the lower rim of the vent. The eminence or genital organ looks like a small pimple. Males have a prominent eminence and females have none.

    • 5

      Remove your fingers from the vent. Turn chicken upright and place on the ground.