Sexing Chicks
Sexing chicks is a difficult task. Using an ancient Japanese and Chinese art that
was refined and placed on a scientific foundation by poultry professors Kiyoshi
Masui and Juro Hashimoto around 1930, in Japan, a professional chick sexer can
examine the vent of a recently hatched chick in less than three seconds and
determine its sex with greater than 98% accuracy ( Some sources claim the rate is
99.8% and others lower it to 90-95%.). The best professionals can accurately
examine thousands of chicks in a single day. There are only about 16 professional
chicken sexer's in all Australia
Barnevelde
The Barnevelder is a medium heavy breed of chicken named after the Dutch town
of Barneveld. It is a cross of 19th century Dutch landrace chickens with Asian breeds
imported to Europe in the mid-late 19th century
They lay dark brown eggs laying a good number of eggs annually
Silkie
The Silkie (sometimes alternatively spelled Silky) is a breed of chicken named for its atypically
fluffy plumage, which is said to feel like silk. The breed has several other unusual qualities, such as
black skin and bones, blue earlobes, and five toes on each foot, whereas most chickens only have
four. Silkies lay a fair number of cream-colored eggs, but production is often interrupted due to their
extreme tendency to go broody.
Araucana
The Araucana is a breed of chicken originating in Chile It is well known for its blue eggs. Specific
features are feather ear tufts, muffs, and beards, with a very much reduced comb, a small feather
crest and a complete absence of wattles.
Pekin
The Pekin is a breed of chicken, and a True Bantam of Chinese origin. They are rather short, and
often only 20-30 centimeters tall. The Pekin possesses a wealth of feathering about their feet and
legs, quite nearly obscuring them. The breed is remarkably popular, and seems to almost encompass
the gamut of chicken colours. Pekin Bantams are very docile, and with careful and regular handling
they make ideal pets, especially for families with younger children. The hens are regularly broody and
are known to be good sitters and attentive mothers. They are not very productive egg layers.
Silver Laced Wyandottes
The Wyandotte is a breed of chicken originating in the United States. The first examples of the breed
appeared in the 1870s. Wyandottes are a docile, dual-purpose breed kept for their brown eggs and
for meat. They appear in a wide variety of color patterns, and are popular show birds. The Wyandotte
lays pale brown or tan eggs and usually has a white ring of feathers around its neck. The hens will lay
around 200 eggs a year
Light and Speckled sussex
The light Sussex has a white body with a black tail and black wing tips. Its neck is white, striped with
black and has a very striking appearance. The feathers around the neck are called hackle feathers
and each one is black with a fine white lace around the edge.
The plumage of the Speckled variety all have a mix of mahogany and black with white tips.
Sometimes the amount of white increases as the bird moults each year.
The Sussex was bred to be a dual purpose bird and is one of the most productive breeds of poultry.
They lay large eggs that are cream to light brown in colour. A person owning a hen of this breed
should expect approximately 240 to 260 eggs a year
Frizzle
The Frizzle is a breed of chicken with characteristic curled or frizzled plumage. The Frizzle is a good
layer of white or tinted eggs, and frequently gets broody It is a good forager and is hardy, although the
curled feathers do not protect it well from rain
Plymouth Rocks
The Plymouth Rock, , is a chicken breed that originated in the United States. The Plymouth Rock is
a dual-purpose, cold-hardy bird and therefore makes a great breed for the small farm or backyard
flock owner. Plymouth Rocks lay a large egg that varies in color from light to medium brown with a
touch of pink
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Cross Bred layers in red, black and white
The cross bred chicken is selectively bred to remove most of the instinct to go ‘broody’, which means
to sit on eggs to hatch chicks. A chicken that doesn’t go broody will lay more eggs, not produce
chicks. Crossbreds achieve the benefits of hybrid vigour and are better egg producers than either of
the parent breeds. Crossbreeding also combines many other desirable traits such as low body weight
(resulting in reduced feed costs) and non-broodiness.
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White Cross: White leghorn/New Hampshire (white egg)
Black Cross: Australorp/New Hampshire (dark brown egg)
Red Cross: Rhode Island Red/New Hampshire (light brown egg
 The white and red crosses are the most popular and are the most prolific layers. The black
cross will generally lay the least amount of eggs, however they are a larger egg. The black
cross is also the most placid of the three.