'Chick sexers ' are paid £40,000 a year to spend their days with tens of thousands of fluffy chicks . But despite the seemingly attractive offer , Britain 's poultry industry is struggling to recruit and is now facing a staff shortage that is threatening exports . The problem , according to one industry chief , lies in the nature of the job : sexers spend 12 hours a day 'staring at the backside of a chick ' . And each new recruit must spend three years learning how to do it . Scroll down for video . Chicken sexers : Workers spot the 'minuscule differences ' in the size and shape of each one-day-old chick 's genitalia - known as its 'vent ' - to determine whether it will be a rooster , or will one day lay eggs . Andrew Large , chief executive of the British Poultry Council , added that another part of the problem is that the awareness of the role is not as high as it could be . Each future 'chick sexer ' receives years in training in how to spot 'minuscule differences ' in the size and shape of a newly-hatched chick 's genitalia to determine whether it will be a rooster or a hen . They are expected to be able to sort between 800 and 1,200 day-old old chicks an hour - between three and five seconds a chick - with an accuracy of 97 or 98 per cent . This must be done for as long as it takes to fill an order , which can be up to 13 hours . And each chick must have its genitalia - known as its 'vent ' - checked without being harmed , Mr Large told The Times . Delicate : Each chick must be handled with care . Although the checking technique can be taught relatively quickly , the ability to maintain standards for such long periods at such level of intensity has to be developed over a longer time . In 2013 the industry failed to recruit a single 'vent chick sexer ' and asked for the job to be added to an official government list of occupations with staff shortages . Mr Large told The Times : 'It takes three years to train someone so they develop the sensitivity and dexterity to reliably sex the bird and a lot of people do n't want to spend that amount of time training . ' I think the problem is the job itself . You are spending hours every day staring at the backside of a chick . That is not seen as being attractive . 'In southeast Asia a chick sexer is a high status job . In the UK it is more likely to be the butt of humour . ' There are an estimated 100 to 150 chick sexers in the country but a shortage of 15 workers means the industry risks losing overseas clients . But the Migration Management Committee , who advises the government on whether a job should be added to the shortage list , ruled that chick sexing should not be included . Chick sexing has previously made headlines as a number of the birds - mainly male - are discarded and killed if they are surplus to the requirement of the order . When asked by MailOnline whether this could affect the number of jobseekers applying for jobs as chick sexers , Mr Large said it was not an issue that had been raised with them . He added that it was only if the birds did not fit the order , and could not be redirected to meat production , that they were 'humanely culled ' . Waiting to be checked : Chick sexers are expected to be able to sort between 800 and 1,200 day-old old chicks an hour - between three and five seconds a chick - with an accuracy of 97 or 98 per cent .
Sexers are paid £up to 1,200 to determine whether chicks are male or female . They train for three years to learn how to examine 40,000 birds an hour . British poultry farmers are struggling to recruit people for the vital role . Industry chief says people do n't want to 'stare at the backside of a chick '