Module 1.

1: Skills in Breed
Selection

How can I tell the breeds of
my chicken?
 Based color, size, weight,
height, behavior, and
feather color,
 Size and color of their
eggs
For example:

White Leghorn

Rhode Island Red

How to identify a Rooster from a Hen

hatched out a brood of chicks,
Rooster vs. Hen:
Physical & Behavior 
bought straight-run chicks, or
Differences 
bought sexed chicks,

Chickens have about a 50/50
gender ratio, meaning about
50% of fertile eggs will hatch as
roosters and 50% will be hens.
 both belong to the order Galliformes.
 Galliformes is an order of heavy-bodied, ground-eating birds that
are often bred by humans for their meat and eggs.
 these group include several common farm birds such: turkey,
pheasant, peacock, chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)

Common poultry terms:
 Rooster is a male chicken
 Hen is a female chicken
 Cockerel is a young male chicken that is less than one
year old.
 Pullet is a young hen that is less than one year old.
How to know if a
chicken is male
or female in their
early stage of
life?
Methods to determine whether a
chicken is male or female in the early
stages of life:
1) Eggs
 Eggs with a pointed tip are generally
considered chicken eggs.
 Eggs that are rounder are hen eggs
This is true regardless of the color
of the egg.
 Chicken eggs are an “asymmetric
tapered oval” in form.
2) Vent sexing
referred to as the Japanese
sexing method
 the chick will be squeezed so
that it defecates, and a vent
opens.
 depending on whether the
lump inside is large or small,
the caretaker can determine
whether it is a hen or a rooster.
3) Feather identification
(feather sexing)
 is done by looking at the
feathers of young chicks.
 female chicks have longer
wing feathers than male
chicks.
4) Physical Characteristics
 After4 weeks since birth, you can distinguised a male or
female chicken by watching them closely.
 Ifmale, they will have the largest body and head. Physical
elements such as the comb, wattle, and tail are more
developed in roosters.
 If they are females, their physique is smaller and narrower.
Physical Appearance of a Rooster:
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Rooster Feathers:
 Roosters have saddle
feathers and a main sickle
that hens do not have.
 Saddle feathers are long
feathers that cover the rump
and base of the rooster's tail.
 Hens have feathers there as
well, but they are not often
referred to as saddle feathers.
 The sickle feather is located
in a rooster’s tail and is the
main long feather in the tail.
 Roosters characteristically
have pointy-shaped hackle
feathers (neck feathers) and
saddle feathers.
Other External Physical Features
of Roosters:
 Roosters have larger combs
and wattles than hens.
 Coloring of their combs,
wattles, earlobes, and faces are
more vibrant than a hen’s facial
features.
 However, when a hen is in peak
production, her facial features
can also appear quite vibrant.

Chicken’s Spur
Mature roosters
 have spurs on their shanks
which will continue to grow and
get longer as the rooster ages.
 have different plumage colors
than hens of the same breed or
variety.
Behavioral Characteristics of a
Rooster:
1) Tidbitting: A type of ground
pecks
2) Courting: Watzing, wing
batting, and strutting
3) Crowing
4) Guard behavior
5) Sparring and other agressive
behaviors
7 reasons why roosters wing dance:
1) For courtship
2) A friendly greeting: “I am happy to see you”
3) A show of dominance (which may lead to attack)
4) A warning to back off
5) To play
6) To save face after submitting to a dominant rooster
7) An expression of unbridled joy
Physical Characteristics of a Hen:
 Hen Behavior
 Nesting and raising chicks (main domain)
 Have a submissive role to the
 rooster
 Talk softly and careful when
 ranging for food

Five major differences between a rooster and hen
1.) Egg laying
2.) Comb and wattles
3.) Feathers
4.) Leg size
5.) Behavior