Confirm that this is a HEN?

[Elisabeth Rose]

Hi,
I bought 2 chicks at a day old. They were both born June 21, so are just 4 months old now. They are both supposed to be girl Americanas. They were the same size as chicks. They both have "puffy" feather cheeks. The gray one is huge- so much bigger than the little brown one. It also has longer tail feathers - sort of Japanese looking. It is also aggressive and will sometimes peck my arm or sort of flap at me. However, it has no large comb or wattle. It has not tried to mate with the other hens ( I have 2 a year old, too). It has never crowed or made any loud noises. Can you tell me for sure if it is a hen because my neighbor won't tolerate a crowing rooster and I would want to find it a new home if it is a rooster. Or is it just a huge hen?? Or, is my little brown one a runt/bantam? It is so much smaller. Thanks for any advice!!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

That is 100% cockerel (rooster), sorry

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Both are Easter Eggers.

Your smaller (red) is a pullet (hen) - the size difference is due to the gender difference

 

[Elisabeth Rose]

Are you sure? Why hasn't it crowed yet? ANy chance you are wrong???

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I am sure - there is NO doubt and NO chance that it is female. It hasn't crowed yet because he just isn't ready to yet, but that bird is male.

 

[keesmom]

Are you sure? Why hasn't it crowed yet? ANy chance you are wrong???

Nope. Ol Grey Mare is correct, the white EE is a cockerel.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I am so sorry, I know this is not what you wanted to hear about your bird.
Moving forward it might help you to understand the various things one can use in trying to tell the difference.
Are you familiar with saddle feathers? Those are the feathers where tail and back meet. See how the feathers on the white bird are long, pointed, silky and hang down across his sides? Compare those to the same feathers on your red bird - see how they are rounded, stay close to the body and look like the rest of the feathers on the bird? That is a key difference between male and female chickens. The same applies to the hackle feathers- those are the feathers on the neck of a chicken - on a rooster the feathers look just like the saddle feathers in that they are long, pointed and shiny. The difference in tail feathers you noted above - that is another key indicator of gender as only male birds develop the sickle (long and curved) feathering in the tail. If you look at the combs of the two birds you will see a visible difference in the size, color and prominence of the two combs - and your white bird's come shows three distinct rows of "peas" where your red bird shows one - with pea combed birds this is another difference in the sexes. You can also see the noticeable difference in the posture and overall body shape of the two birds - which, again, is one of the things you can look at in making a gender determination.

 

[donrae]

No chance of a hen on the white bird, sorry. Ol Grey Mare listed the reasons nicely. I'm just going to add, he's only a baby at this point, that's why he's not crowing. But it will come in the next 2-3 months. If you can't keep a rooster where you live, I'd start searching for a new home asap.

 

[Elisabeth Rose]

Thank you all so much for the info. I am sad because when I bought my 2 1-year old hens, I also bought a (non-gender guaranteed) Bantam, which turned out to be a little rooster, who actually looked like a tiny version of the white one above with the oil-slick feathers. He was such a sweetie and would follow me everywhere. He would walk to the mailbox with me and everything. He was also a great flier and could go from the ground up to the roof of our garage! However, my next door neighbor complained about his (very soft) crowing. It was so stressful, that I had to send him to a farm nearby where we can still visit him. He got a little Bantam girlfriend and is very happy. So, this time when I wanted to add 2 chicks, I bought the certified pullets, but obviously they made a mistake. It is hard to find a nice home around here for a rooster. There are many farms, but they don't want more than one rooster. Any suggestions? The guy at Agway where I bought them said I can post a notice. Now I'm freaking out that he will start crowing and my neighbor will have a fit. I am in a very rural area where lots of people have chickens and none of their neighbors ever complained- just mine!

 

[BantamLover21]

The white Easter Egger is definitely a rooster.