Quote :

"Sexing chicks is a very difficult perceptual task for naive observers. Expert chick sexers are 98% correct while the naive sexers can only do it with slightly above chance performance. Are you sufficiently confused/pissed yet? Ok ok... here's what's really going on: When chickens are born the chicks are examined by experts to determine what sex they are. This important task is performed in order to save money in feed costs and avoid conflict between the male and female chicks (the men are selfish and don't let the females eat or drink). What they do with the male chickens I'm not entirely sure. I would assume they euthanize them. In any case, this process was discovered by the Japanese and brought to America in the 1920's where a number of chicken sexing schools were setup in Washington and California. According to the industry the skill requires years of practice to master. In fact, the experts are able to classify nearly 1000 chicks per hour with 98% accuracy. The process of sexing the chicken is both interesting and disturbing, "The chicks, only a few hours old, are brought to the sexer in trays of 100. The task requires that the cloaca be everted. The chick is held in the left hand (for a right-handed person) and the fecal contents are squirted into a container to clear the cloaca (see Figure 2). Gentle but firm pressure from the two thumbs and right forefinger are exerted to spread the ventral surface of the colaca upwards to expose the eminence, called the "bead." The eminence is about the size of a pin head. The sexing decision must be made quickly because the chick is at risk from the vent eversion. Females are traditionally place in a tray on the right and males on the left." Here is an example of how an expert would hold a chick in order to sex it. The chicks eyes have been obscured in order to maintain privacy. "

http://scienceblogs.com/twominds/2008/04/how_to_sex_a_chick.php

wasn't quite what i was expecting either...

[Edited on April 14, 2008 at 9:18 AM. Reason : qote]

4/14/2008 9:17:59 AM

old........er

4/14/2008 9:18:28 AM

is you think that's something you should trying "milking a turkey"

4/14/2008 9:18:49 AM

Watch Dirty Jobs recently?

4/14/2008 9:24:34 AM

Quote :

"The chicks eyes have been obscured in order to maintain privacy."

How thoughtful.

4/14/2008 9:33:26 AM