Sex and the Chicken: Girls & Boys
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In our younger days we used to raise rhea and emu and became the local experts, even earning a bit of celebrity in tv and newspapers. In a roundabout way, it also launched my writing career. Who knew fondling a big bird's peas and carrots would turn me into a writer? Life is very strange sometimes.
So for all of your prurient pleasure, here's the lowdown. It's called vent-sexing, and yes, it's just like it sounds. You take the bird in question and with your fingers, spread the vent until something pops out. If it's a boy rhea or emu, a long, whitish penis furls out.
It looks hideous. There's just no other way to say it. I would've posted pictures, but I don't want to be accused of bird porn.
Besides, what does it say about you if you want to see such things? LOL. So trust me. It's gross.
Even though we sexed and banded our rheas and emu when they were young birds, we always had to re-sex them to assure the buyer of what he was getting. I'd make the buyer crouch down with me so he could inspect the bird while Greg held the beast down.
Let me tell you, the person who holds the big bird has to be incredibly strong and must like you a lot. If he lets go, the person at the other end (moi) would be placed in serious danger.
Ratites (rhea, emu, ostrich) are ALL legs, and they're powerful kickers. There are stories where people have been gutted by an adult ostrich. You do not take chances with an animal sporting claws sharp enough to split you open.
I learned to be quick and realized Greg must really like me because I never once got hurt while he was holding them down.
If anyone asks me if I trust my husband with my life, I'd say yes. He's proved it dozens of times over.
We do not vent-sex chicken chicks. In the first place, you'll find out what they are in a few months anyway. And in the second place, clumsy handling could kill a young chick. Unless you're an expert (and there are very few) the next best way to sex a (chicken) chick is by feather-sexing.
A few hours after hatching, the chicks will have dried off. Females will have staggered short and long layers of feathers at the tip of their wings. The wingtips of the males will be all the same length. After a few days you won't be able to tell the difference, so you'll want to feather-sex them within the first couple of days.
A few breeds of chickens, called sex-link chickens, display gender at hatching--but I don't have any of those. For us, it doesn't matter. If they're girls, we keep them. If they're boys...well, let's just say only a few boys get to sow their oats. But we'll talk about that in a future post.
During my upcoming blog tour some unlucky host is going to get my Sex and the Chicken: the Randy Rooster post. I haven't decided who's getting that one yet. I promise, it'll have something to do with Apocalypse Rising.
Is there anything special you want to know about chicken porn--I mean sex?
Comments
Liz: Ha! Glad you liked it, Liz. The animal world never ceases to fascinate me.
TMI
LOL, I think Maya gets the follow up post!
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Angela: Oh, wait until I tell you about their mating rituals. LOL.
What did you raise the rhea (rheas? I'm actually unsure of the pluralization of rhea...) for? Meat? I've just never heard of anyone raising rhea. Ostriches and emus, sure.
Also, i'd love to know if you slaughter your own rooster for meat? Though i'm sure you'll talk about that in the upcoming post you hinted at
Wow, sounds dangerous!
We see emus or rheas (not sure which) sometimes where we go motorcycle riding. They're so cool to see because they're so unusual looking.
(Absolutely every other comment that lept to my mind would have gotten us thrown off Blogger for life. *grin*)
PS The plural of rhea is rheas.
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Angelina: I'll try to remember to take pictures of feather-sexing.
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Amanda: I should've posted a picture of an emu. You can easily see the difference. Rheas look like female ostriches. Emus have a punk look with a fly-away 'hair' look.
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Linda: Hey, I run a clean shop. Besides they have no problem getting in the mood. It's the hens that need convincing.
Cathy: The quacking must have been deafening. LOL. I'll bet you got pretty good at it too. :)
Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
Sarah: Hi Sarah, and welcome. I am amusing on occasion--but almost always by accident. :o)
BTW, I'm hosting Roland D Yeomans today, who self-published his book THE BEAR WITH TWO SHADOWS and is sharing his journey with us as well as a four book giveaway!
www.nas-dean.blogspot.com
I read your previous post too about guest blogging. I'd be happy to host you any time...er, I'd be happy to host anyone anytime I think.
Denise<3
L'Aussie: Thanks, Denise! Maybe for the next book.
Ref: I used to keep chooks when I lived on a hobby farm but I managed to stay innocent lol.
I tried to stay innocent--obviously I drifted. :)
Jenny: Come on, Jenny. Where's your sense of adventure?
Heh, chicken porn.