Question

Is the sperm or the egg responsible for the sex of the chicks?

Answer 1

Part 1: Sex determination in chicks
Chicks are birds. Sex is determined in chicks in the same way it is determined in other birds.

• Female shows heterogamety, by having two different sex chromosomes designated as Z and W beside autosomes.
• The males are homogametic, having only a pair of Z-chromosomes besides the autosomes.
• Since the gametes produced by the chicks will have different sex chromosomes, so, in the case of chicks, female determines the sex of the offspring.

Part 2: Diagrammatic representation of sex determination in birds