How to Tell If a Baby Chick Is a Rooster or an Old English Hen

Old English game are some of the noisiest and most aggressive types of chicken. Each farmer has their own technique as to how they want to handle and raise their chickens, and part of that is to decide on whether or not you want to watch the chickens grow and determine their sex later, or if it needs to be done as soon as possible after leaving the egg. One major reason farmers choose to try and sex the chickens early is to avoid putting more than one rooster in each coop, as Old English Roosters are aggressive and will attack each other.

Things You'll Need

  • Towel
  • 2 boxes or incubators
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Instructions

    • 1

      Sit down in a chair near the chicks and place a towel over your lap. The towel will keep your clothes relatively clean while you sex the chicks. Decide how you are going to separate them or keep track of the roosters vs. hens. You can use separate boxes or incubators for this purpose.

    • 2

      Look at the feathers on the tails of each chick. There are several ways you can try to sex your chickens, and some methods require that you wait until the chickens are several weeks of age in order to tell. For the hens of Old English game, the tail feathers will develop more quickly than their male counterparts. Rooster tails will remain downy longer than the hens.

    • 3

      Look for the presence or lack of a comb, which is a fleshy growth on top of the chick's head. Baby rooster combs will develop earlier than that of a hen.

    • 4

      Hold the chick gently as you carefully turn them upside down. Examine the vent on the underside of the chicken and search for the presence or lack of male sex organs. If the vent looks masculine, then you have a rooster.

    • 5

      Grip the chicks above their wings gently, but firm enough to pick them up. Look at the chicks feet. If they raise their feet, then there is a large chance the chick is a rooster. If they remain calm and keep their feet down, it is probably a hen.