03/31/2026
It’s chick season… and everyone wants pullets. Trust me, SAME!
But here’s the honest truth about why most backyard/local breeders don’t offer sexed chicks:
Sexing day-old chicks is not as simple as it sounds. True vent sexing requires specialized training and experience, and even then it comes with risks - done incorrectly, it can seriously injure or even kill a chick. That’s not a risk most small, ethical breeders are willing to take. Even when chicks are sexed, it’s important to know that vent sexing is not 100% accurate. Mistakes happen, even with professionals. Just look at all the local chicken groups asking if their TSC chick is a rooster🫣
There’s also feather sexing, but this only works for specific breeds and crosses (fast feathering + slow feathering), and only between 1-3 days old. Miss that window, or use it on the wrong breed, and it’s simply not accurate.
The exception is autosexing or sex-linked breeds, where males and females hatch with distinct visible characteristics (Welsummers, Legbars, Barred Rocks, Zombies). There is also DNA sexing, but it comes with added cost per chick & most people aren’t willing to pay the higher price that comes with it. On top of that, collecting and submitting samples for large numbers of chicks just isn’t practical for most small backyard breeders.
And here’s the bigger picture… Large commercial hatcheries are able to offer “sexed pullets” because they process chicks at a massive scale, but that often comes with the harsh reality that day-old cockerels are routinely culled (killed) because they aren’t profitable.
So when you support a local breeder, you’re supporting a more ethical, small-scale approach to poultry - one that values every chick.🤍 not to mention our chicks, even the roosters, carry genes that create those beautiful colored egg layers that everyone loves!
