This is a common question that many consumers have when purchasing chicken at the grocery store. The sex of the chicken is an important factor that impacts the taste, texture, and nutritional value of the meat. Understanding whether the chicken you are buying is male or female can help inform purchasing decisions.
Quick Answer
The vast majority of chicken meat sold in grocery stores comes from young female chickens under 1 year old. Specifically, it comes from female chickens called “broiler hens” that are bred to produce a large amount of meat in a short amount of time.
Why Grocery Store Chicken is Female
There are a few key reasons why commercially raised chickens bred for meat production are overwhelmingly female:
- Females grow faster and larger – Female broiler chickens reach slaughter weight faster than males. They also develop more breast meat and larger bodies overall.
- Males don’t lay eggs – Only females lay eggs, so males would be useless in the egg production process. Chicken producers maximize efficiency by using males only for breeding purposes.
- Less aggression and mortality – Female chickens are less aggressive and have lower mortality rates than males when raised in close confinement.
- More feed efficient – Female broilers utilize feed more efficiently than males, converting more of what they eat into body mass.
For these reasons, nearly 100% of chicken meat available in grocery stores comes specifically from young, usually less than 10 week old, female chickens.
Breeds of Chicken Used
The specific breeds used for meat production are:
- Cornish Cross – The most common breed, they grow exceptionally fast.
- Red Broiler – A hybrid red-feathered chicken also bred for rapid growth.
- Freedom Ranger – A slower growing breed marketed as premium or organic.
These breeds all share traits like a large, meaty breast and fast growth to slaughter weight. However, all commercial broiler chickens are exclusively female.
What About Male Chickens?
Since males don’t lay eggs and are less efficient for meat production, they have limited value to large chicken producers. There are a few potential fates for male chicks:
- Culled at birth – Most male chicks are destroyed shortly after hatching, often by maceration.
- Raised for meat – A small percentage are raised to adulthood for meat, taking longer than females.
- Sold as by-products – Male chicks can be sold for low value products like pet food and fertilizer.
However, the vast majority of males born into the commercial egg and chicken industry are killed almost immediately because they are considered useless for production.
How Can You Tell?
Determining the sex of a store-bought chicken is difficult if not impossible. Here are some ways you may be able to distinguish males from females:
- Size – Females are often larger than males at the same age when raised for meat.
- Markings – Male plumage can sometimes have slightly more distinctive or colorful feathers.
- Breast – Females may have a more pronounced breast and tenderloins.
However, once the feathers, head, feet and internal organs are removed during processing it becomes very difficult to tell male from female carcasses. The packaging almost never indicates sex. Essentially, if it is a young broiler chicken raised for meat, it’s over 95% likely to be female.
Does it Matter?
For most consumers, the sex of a grocery store chicken doesn’t matter too much. Here are a few implications it may have on quality:
- Taste – Females may have slightly more tender and juicy meat, while males can have a slightly stronger “chicken” flavor.
- Texture – Males often have firmer muscle with less fat, which can be favorable or not depending on preference.
- Size – Female chickens are bigger overall, so you may get more meat, especially breast meat.
- Nutrition – No major differences. Female broilers may have slightly higher fat content.
Overall, the differences are fairly small. The primary advantages of female chickens are faster growth and greater breast meat, which aligns with what consumers demand. For the typical shopper, it makes little difference whether their chicken is male or female.
Specialty Male Chicken Options
While extremely rare, some specialty chicken producers actually raise male chickens. This is usually slower growing heritage breeds marketed as premium or organic. A few options are:
- Elmwood Stock Farm – Offers Red Ranger males.
- Eberly Certified Organic – Raises Red Bro males.
- Joyce Farms – Sells heirloom breed Freedom Rangers, some male.
However, these remain niche options not commonly found in regular groceries. And even with many specialty producers, the chickens are still overwhelmingly female.
Whole Roosters are Usually Male
One notable exception is whole roasting chickens. These are often larger, older chickens sold whole rather than cut up. While still not common, whole roosters are sometimes sold for roasting:
- Older breed chickens – Roosters raised longer for more flavor.
- Special order – Some farms let you special order a whole rooster.
- Amish farms – Many organic Amish producers will make roosters available.
- Hispanic groceries – Roosters are more common in Hispanic stores.
So if seeking out a male chicken, purchasing a large whole roasting chicken is likely the best option. Though even then, the majority are still female.
Why Female Chickens Dominate
The advantages of females for efficient production are the main reasons for their dominance:
| Trait | Females | Males |
|---|---|---|
| Growth Rate | Very Fast | Slower |
| Breast Meat Yield | Higher | Lower |
| Feed Efficiency | Highly Efficient | Less Efficient |
| Mortality Rate | Lower | Higher |
| Aggression & Behavior | Less Aggressive | More Aggressive |
| Carcass Quality | Higher & Consistent | Lower & Variable |
With their rapid growth, excellent feed conversion, docile behavior, and suitability for confinement rearing, female broilers are basically engineered to produce the most meat at the lowest cost.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the vast majority of chicken meat sold in grocery stores comes from young, usually under 2 month old female chickens. This is predominately the Cornish Cross breed, along with some other rapid growing broiler breeds like Red Rangers. Females are favored by commercial producers for their faster growth rates, better meat yield, and overall superior productivity compared to males. While specialty options exist for purchasing male chicken meat, it is exceedingly rare and usually requires seeking out small-scale heirloom breed producers. So while it often goes unnoticed, the chicken most consumers are purchasing is almost always female due to the favorable traits of modern broiler hens engineered for efficient meat production.