POULTRY S C I E N C E

July, 1939, Vol. XVIII, No. 4

Sex Identification of Barred Plymouth

Rock Baby Chicks by Down, Shank,
and Beak Characteristics
JOSEPH P. QUINN AND CHARLES W. KNOX
Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC

(Received for publication October 3, 1938)

P OULTRYMEN have been interested in

segregating male and female chicks at
hatching time for practical reasons. This
different breeders, that selection for uni-
formity of red down color resulted in a
disproportionate sex ratio. These results,
has been accomplished by making sex- and the well-known fact that a color
linked crosses involving color of plumage, dimorphism exists in the Barred Plymouth
by mating rapid-feathering males to slow- Rock breed, prompted the authors to in-
feathering females, and by observing the vestigate the possibilities of sexing Barred
copulatory organ, a method of sex predic- Plymouth Rock baby chicks by observa-
tion known as the Japanese method. Bureau tions of external characteristics.
of Animal Industry investigators at the Na- The sexual dimorphism in the adult
tional Agricultural Research Center have plumage of Barred Plymouth Rocks is prob-
been interested for some time in the possi- ably due to sexual differences in genetic
bilities of distinguishing the sex of baby constitution, although the darker shade of
chicks, of standard breeds and varieties, by the female might possibly be attributed, in
the observation of such external character- some degree, to the presence of the female
istics as down color, down striping, beak sex hormone, which has been shown to have
color, or shank color. It has been shown a melanizing effect on adult plumage in
previously (Byerly and Quinn, 1936) that certain varieties. The male Barred Plymouth
spotting and striping may be used to de- Rock which is lighter in plumage color than
termine sex in Rhode Island Red baby the female is known to be homozygous for
chicks, 84.9 percent of the striped and the sex-linked barring and silver genes, as
spotted chicks being females, and 77.8 per- well as the autosomal genes for extension of
cent of the non-spotted, non-striped chicks black, BBSSEE. The female Barred Ply-
being males. It was also demonstrated mouth Rock is heterozygous for both bar-
(Quinn and Byerly, 1937), by observations ring and silver, and homozygous only for
on 10 lots of exhibition chicks from 10 black, B-S-EE. It was supposed that this
[259]
 260 JOSEPH P. QUINN AND CHARLES W. KNOX

" genetic difference, which probably accounts and shank colors were mixed. The ten lots
for the major proportion of the color chosen for this study, however, presented
dimorphism in adult Barred Plymouth an average tone of down color somewhat
Rocks might also make it possible to de- lighter than noted by the authors in obser-
termine the sex of baby chicks of this vations of Barred Plymouth Rock chicks at
variety. If it were possible to segregate the the National Agricultural Research Center
sexes it would be of practical value because and elsewhere.
Barred Plymouth Rocks are popular among In making the observations on external
broiler producers and a reliable method of characteristics, a five-column sheet was
distinguishing the sexes would enable the used, in the first three columns of which,
producer to market the male half of his the down, shank, and beak observations
broiler flock ten days to two weeks earlier were placed. Both dorsal and ventral down
than otherwise. Furthermore, commercial color observations were made on each chick
poultrymen, specializing in bred-to-lay in considerable detail, the description in-
Barred Plymouth Rocks for a brown-egg cluding intensity of pigment, head spots,
market, could purchase pullet chicks only. body striping and ventral down color char-
In order to carry out this investigation it acteristics. Based on these notations, the
seemed desirable to procure Barred Ply- prediction of sex was then made and placed
mouth Rock chicks from several strains. It in the fourth column. In the fifth column,
was decided, therefore, to make observa- the result of the prediction was recorded
tions of chicks of this variety at the North- by a plus sign if the prediction was correct,
eastern Poultry Producers Exposition, No- and a minus sign if incorrect. The chicks
vember, 1937, where chicks from a number with silvery black, or dull black down, and
of exhibitors would be available. According- light beaks and shanks were presumed to
ly, ten lots of baby chicks were purchased be males, and those with more intense black
and observations made, in an attempt to pigment in down, beaks and shanks were
determine the sex of the chicks by down, presumed to be females. The actual sex was
shank, and beak characteristics. After the ascertained by dissection.
observations were made, the chicks were
The results obtained in the five lots of
dissected to ascertain the actual sex. Five
chicks from the broiler production class are
lots of these chicks were taken from the
given in the first section of Table 1. An
broiler production class, where scores were
accuracy of 83.5 percent was obtained in
made on rate of gain in weight, and this
predicting the sex of these chicks. Among
group of chicks presented a fairly uniform
the 121 broiler chicks shown in Table 1,
appearance. The other five lots were taken
61.2 percent were males and 38.8 percent
from the exhibition class and appeared to
were females, indicating that it is probably
be more carefully selected for uniformity of
easier to obtain the uniformity required by
down and shank color. The ten lots repre-
the baby chick score card by selection of
sented chicks from seven different breeders.
chicks with a light shade of down and yel-
An attempt was made to select lots of
low shanks, such chicks usually being males.
chicks in both groups which showed con-
siderable differences in general appearance The results of the sexing of the second
among the different lots chosen. Two lots group of Barred Plymouth Rock chicks,
which were quite dark in down and dusky chosen from the exhibition classes, are
in shanks were included in each group. given in the second section of Table 1 with
Other lots were chosen in which the down their competitive scores. It will be noted
that the percentage of accuracy, 86.1 per-
 SEX IDENTIFICATION OF BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK BABY C H I C K S 261

cent, attained in predicting sex in the ex- scribed individually and the sexes predicted
hibition chicks was somewhat higher than in the same manner as had been done
in the broiler production group. The broiler previously in the broiler and exhibition
chicks were the first group sexed and the chicks. The results are given in the third
experience gained in sexing the first five
TABLE 1.—Sexing Barred Plymouth Rock chicks by
lots appeared to be of value in sexing the external characteristics
exhibition chicks. Selection for uniformity
Broiler Chicks
of appearance was apparently practiced
Sexes
among the exhibition chicks, resulting in a Lot No.
Predicted
disproportionate sex ratio, 67.2 percent be- Correctly
Males Females
ing males, and 32.8 percent females. As 1 14 11 21
stated previously, exhibititors probably find 2 22 3 20
it less difficult to match the chicks with light 3 14 11 20
4 11 14 21
colored down, which are usually males, and 5 13 8 19
have lighter shanks and beaks. Total 74 47 101
The data on the sexing of the broiler and
61.2 38.8 83.5
exhibition chicks given in Sections 1 and 2 Percent
of Table 1, showed that shade of down color Exhibition Chicks
and depth of shank pigment appeared to be
Com- Sexes
reliable indices of sex in Barred Plymouth Lot petitive Predicted
No. Correctly
Rock baby chicks. Beak color appeared to Score Males Females
be much less reliable and, in strains of 6 91 10 12 19
Barred Plymouth Rocks carrying a good 7 97j 22 3 20
8 93i 9 16 20
deal of beak pigment, might be quite mis- 9 91i 23 2 22
leading. Beak color may be used, however, 10 92f 18 7 24
in certain cases in conjunction with down Total 93f 82 40 105
color and shank color. When the down and
Percent 67.2 32.8 86.1
shank color coincide in indicating sex, how-
ever, the amount of pigment in beak may Hatchery Chicks
usually be disregarded. Sexes
Since the chicks obtained at the North- Flock No. Predicted
Correctly
eastern Poultry Producers Exposition were Males Females

a selected group, it seemed advisable to 11 27 25 47

check the results by sexing unselected 12 25 26 49
13 29 22 47
hatchery chicks. It was decided, therefore, 14 24 27 49
15 21 30 47
to obtain chicks from six nearby hatchery 16 28 23 43
flocks of Barred Plymouth Rocks which
had been mated with males obtained three Total 154 153 282

years previously from a nationally known Percent 50.1 49.9 91.8

breeder of this variety. It was stated that
the best colored males of good type were section of Table 1. It will be noted that
selected each year from these matings and there was approximate equality of sexes
interchanged among the six flocks. Fifty among the unselected hatchery chicks,
chicks from each of these six flocks were whereas the selected chicks in the other two
purchased. groups showed a disproportionate sex ratio.
The six lots of hatchery chicks were de- The percentage accuracy, 91.8 percent, ob-
262 JOSEPH P. QUINN AND CHARLES W. KNOX

tained in predicting the sexes of the hatch- or dull black with light ashy gray color
ery chicks is higher than that obtained in ventrally. The white down often tends to
the two preceding groups which was 83.5 blend with the black, resulting in a grayish
and 86.1 percent, respectively. It is be- effect in the black sections of the down and
lieved that the upward trend in sex predic- a silvery effect in the nearly white sec-
tion may be ascribed to improvement in tions. In black and white areas adjoining
efficiency as the work progressed and possi- each other the demarcation between the
bly to the use of unselected chicks in the two areas is not sharply defined but appears
latter group. to be a mixture or blend of both, resulting
It seems likely that poultrymen or pro- in an uneven border of grayish or silvery
fessional sexers may obtain a somewhat black. The white head spot in male chicks
higher percentage of accuracy than that ob- is usually quite irregular in shape, with
tained by the authors in the hatchery chicks grayish hairs through the dorsal surface
after becoming thoroughly familiar with the of the head, so that the white spot appears
details. diffused through the black down of the
The chief difference between male and head giving it a more or less silvery ap-
female Barred Plymouth Rock chicks con- pearance. The white head spot is usually
sists in the intensity of the black pigment larger in male chicks. In the ventral down,
in down color and shank color, the beak 2 or more white spots will usually be found,
pigment being relatively unimportant. Male the light grayish silver between them ap-
chicks have silvery gray dorsal down; sil- pearing in rings and circles.
very gray ventral down with 2 or more Female chicks are much darker through-
white spots; light ashy gray areas between out all black sections of the down than
the white ventral spots; and yellow shanks. the males, the down of the females being
Female chicks have black dorsal down; a deep brilliant black. The contrast between
black ventral down with 1 or 2 white spots; the black and white down color of the
dark ashy gray areas ventrally; and pre- female is particularly noticeable and clean
dominantly black shanks. It should be un- cut in the dorsal down, the head, throat
derstood, however, that some strains of and abdomen, in which sections the black
Barred Plymouth Rock chicks may be more and white of the male is blended or silvery.
difficult to sex than others, and that con- Ventrally the females usually have dark
siderable variation in down and shank color ashy-gray down with 1 or 2 white spots and
may exist among male and female chicks of occasionally without any white spotting.
the same strain. A small percentage of the The total amount of white in females ap-
chicks may not be clearly and quickly pears to be less than in males.
identifiable as either males or females, ap- Few Barred Plymouth Rock chicks are
pearing as intermediates. Occasionally a entirely white in the ventral down. Among
male chick may be encountered which has 551 chicks sexed, only 22 were white ven-
female characteristics or vice versa. A more trally. Of this number, 19 were females and
detailed description of the down and shank had dark dorsal down. Only 3 male chicks
characteristics of male and female chicks, were entirely white ventrally and these had
and modifications common to both sexes, light dorsal down. Ten chicks with light
may aid the observer in attaining a higher brownish heads were observed, 8 of which
degree of accuracy in sexing. were males and 2 females.
The light dorsal down color in male Silver striping in the dorsal down does
chicks may be silvery gray, silvery black not appear to be a reliable index of sex
 SEX IDENTIFICATION OF BARRED PL YMOUTH ROCK BABY CHICKS 263

as it appeared in both male and female perience necessary to predict the sexes of
chicks. Prediction of sex in silver striped Barred Plymouth Rock chicks, 3 lots of
chicks should depend on the intensity of banded chicks were examined by 2 ob-
down color in other sections. In female servers with previous experience and 2 ob-
chicks carrying silver striping, the same servers with no previous experience. The
sharp black and white contrast in shade latter were given a brief instruction as to
of down will usually be found in the back, the manner in which the work was being
the head, the throat, and rear of abdomen carried on. The results obtained by each
as is found in female chicks which have no observer are given in Table 2.
striping.
Depth or intensity of shank pigment TABLE 2.—Prediction of sexes in 152 Barred Plymouth
Rock Chicks
appears to be approximately as accurate an
index of sex as down color and may be used Observer
No. of Predicted Percent
with equal confidence even in dusky- Chicks Correctly Accuracy

shanked strains of Barred Plymouth Rock No. 1 152 135 88.8

No. 2 152 136 89.5
chicks, among which there appears to be No. 3 152 136 89.5
a distinct differentiation of shank color No. 4 152 128 84.2
between the males and females. Usually
Barred Plymouth Rock chicks with clear The results in Table 2 indicate that no
yellow shanks are males and chicks with great amount of experience is necessary to
intensely dark or black shanks are females. predict sex with a reasonable degree of
The male chicks in some strains, however, accuracy. The percentage accuracy ob-
may have rings, or circular bands, of dark tained by inexperienced observer No. 3 was
pigment in the shanks, whereas the female equivalent to that of experienced observer
chicks usually have an intense black pig- No. 2. The score made by inexperienced ob-
ment which may extend to the instep, or server No. 4 was slightly better than that
below it to the toes, where it usually termi- obtained in the broiler chicks which were
nates rather abruptly. The pigmented rings the first group sexed by observer No. 2.
of the male chick may, in some cases, ex- It is possible that male and female chicks
tend to the extremities of the toes but usu- in the Barred Plymouth Rock variety can
ally the rings cease to appear below the be distinguished, in most flocks, with ap-
instep or half way out on the toes. A certain proximately 90 percent accuracy. In only
amount of ringiness may appear in the dark one lot of chicks from the hatchery flocks
shanks of female chicks, but, as a rule, the was a lower percentage of accuracy ob-
pigmented rings in females are much less tained. If the sex in 90 percent of the chicks
noticeable than in the male chicks and ap- can be ascertained rapidly and accurately,
pear only in a very limited area below the the intermediate chicks, which require more
dark pigment. detailed examination, may be eliminated
Beak color appears to be much less re- from consideration by selling them as mixed
liable, as an index of sex, than down color chicks. Two lots of hatchery chicks were
or shank color. When down color and shank handled rapidly to determine the rate at
color indicate either sex, the beak pigment which it might be possible to sex Barred
may be disregarded, although it may be Plymouth Rock chicks. These chicks were
useful in individual cases, where down and examined individually by bringing them
shanks are intermediate or questionable. toward the operator with their heads fore-
In order to determine the amount of ex- most, so that a view of the head, the dorsal
264 JOSEPH P. QUINN AND CHARLES W. KNOX

and ventral down, and the shank color, than beak pigment or silver striping in the
might be easily obtained. One hundred and chicks observed.
two chicks were sexed with an accuracy of It was found that male Barred Plymouth
93 percent, at the rate of 700 to 800 chicks Rock chicks had silver and black heads;
per hour. females white and black heads. Male chicks
SUMMARY usually had larger head spots which were
silvery white. In female chicks the head
Bureau of Animal Industry investigators spots were usually smaller, with contrasting
have studied the possibilities of sex identi- black and white in down of head. Male
fication of Barred Plymouth Rock baby chicks were silver gray, silver black or dull
chicks by external characteristics. Selected black on the back; females were a deep
exhibition chicks and unselected hatchery brilliant black. Both males and females
chicks were used. may carry silver striping on the back. Male
Selection for uniformity of down color chicks were silver and white in face and
and shank color appeared to have been throat; females black, with white spots.
practiced to a limited extent in the broiler- Male chicks were silver gray in abdomen,
production classes and to a greater extent usually with 2 white spots; females dark
in the exhibition classes. Such selection re- ashy gray with 1 or 2 spots, black with
sulted in a disproportionate sex ratio. white spots, or entirely white. Male chicks
Among 121 chicks in the broiler-production had yellow, yellow ringed, or dusky yellow
classes, 74 were males and 47 were females. shanks; shanks of female checks were black
Among 122 chicks in the exhibition classes, or dark, with the dark pigment usually
82 were males and 40 were females. broken off rather abruptly. Male chicks had
Among 121 chicks in the broiler-produc- yellow toes or yellow ringed toes; females,
tion classes the sex of 101 chicks was pre- black or dark toes with yellow appearing
dicted correctly, an accuracy of 83.5 per- at the extremities.
cent. Among 122 chicks in the exhibition
classes sex was predicted correctly in 105 REFERENCES

chicks, an accuracy of 86.1 percent. Among Byerly, T. C , and J. P. Quinn, 1936. Sexual di-
307 hatchery chicks, sex was predicted cor- morphism in Single Comb Rhode Island Red
rectly in 282 chicks, an accuracy of 91.8 down color. Jour. Hered. 27:319.
Quinn, J. P., and T. C. Byerly, 1937. Spotting and
percent. striping in exhibition classes of Rhode Island
Shade of down color and shank pigment Red and New Hampshire baby chicks. Poultry
appeared to be more reliable indices of sex Sci. 16:422.