Sounds simple, right? But in actuality it’s not an easy profession. The job does take some time to perfect and you will have to stay within the confines of a warehouse full of chicks for hours on end (and the smell is not pleasant). Very few people can do that. Employees identify the animal’s sex by looking carefully at the genitals, but this has to be done quickly and accurately.After the chick’s sex is identified the employee will place it in one of two groups: males and females. The chicks that are identified as female will be groomed for egg production. The male chicks, unfortunately, are not so lucky. Being of little economic value they are slaughtered immediately. Many consumers are unaware of this cruel practise and it is also for this reason the trade attracts few people.
Those who are willing to take on the job have to be in it for the long haul if they want to be successful. It takes three years to perfect the craft, and new employees are typically placed with a seasoned chicken sexer for that period of time. The trainee has to learn how to observe the chick’s genitals, and given their incredibly small size, that is not easy.There are generally two methods employed: feather sexing and vent sexing. Feather sexing is when the chicken sexer is able to distinguish males from females according to its feathers. This is possible when the chicks are specially bred to produce feathers, therefore the males and female will have distinct plumage.
In vent sexing there is a little bit more man handling (or chick handling as the case might be). The sexer literally squeezes the poo out of the chick and sticks his finger inside the chick’s anus (hence the name vent) and feels for a male or female genital. Once this is done the chick’s fate is sealed. This practice may be just one more reason why the trade seams so cruel. However, when you have to do this to thousands of chicks daily at a rapid pace, the process becomes mechanical and the employee may even become numb to any suffering they might be causing. This job is certainly not one for the faint of heart.A dirty and unattractive as this job may seem, it does present good career prospects for those who are willing to stick it out. According to one member of the British Poultry Council, sexers enjoy “a lifetime of employment” and there is a career ladder that begins at apprenticeship level and extends all the way to post graduate positions.
But being a chicken sexer is not necessarily seen as a dirty and cruel job in all parts of the world. In Asia, the job is actually quite prestigious and there are many competitions around chicken sexing. If you love animals and may even be an activist, then you may want to stay away from this job-in fact you might even be glad that this particular industry is on the decline. So the next time you eat chicken at your dinner table, remember how it got there-and remember that someone had to do it.
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