We thought our 17-week old "Malita" was a girl, but a neighbor thought he heard her trying to crow..

[Enkidu47]

 

[annabelle12]

Feathers are a good way to tell sex at this age. Look up images of hackle, sickle, and saddle feathers. The feathers around the neck (hackle) look pointed in your pics and there are some curved tail feathers in the tail (sickle)....these point to a cockeral. Do the saddle feathers look pointy to you? Hard to tell from pics...they look rounded like a pullet to me. Here is a post with some pictures that may help. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/is-my-chicken-a-pullet-hen-or-a-cockerel-cock Large comb and thicker legs can point out a cockeral as well. But...hens can crow too sometimes, just so you know. Strange but true. My gut says she looks like a he....but maybe some more experienced chicken-gender experts will weigh in!

 

[Enkidu47]

Thank you for responding so quickly! That gives me quite a few things to check on the chicken I shall call "Pat" until further notice. I'll get in closer to those feathers in the morning when it gets light. It is kind of fun to play Nancy Drew.

 

[ChickenPox]

I have the hardest time telling with black birds myself, so I would be confused too. LOL! What did you decide? I think I see some saddle feathers in there, but I'm not sure.

 

[Toddrick]

Especially in the first picture, the neck hackles look like a rooster to me. Hen's neck feathers usually look less "stringy", and more consistent with the other areas. Also, the tail feathers appear very long in the second picture, and hens usually have "short" tail feathers.

 

[mymilliefleur]

I'm going to have to say rooster....

 

[JensChickies]

Really tough to tell!! I feel if she was a rooster she would have a bigger comb and wattles. Buuuut I do see the stringy hackle feathers. .???? Only time will tell!

 

[popsicle]

17-weeks? Cockerel.

 

[Kev]

yeah, cockerel- there's clearly roo feathers on back by tail, the pointy, super shiny feathers in the last photo. He's showing other male traits too but that's the clearest one of all.

 

[Enkidu47]

I see what you mean by the tail and the hackle feathers. So much for ordering three pullets from a friend of a friend, lol.

Here's another question: should Malita Pat actually prove to be a roo, what are the disadvantages to having one other than crowing that might annoy neighbors? MP actually has a very sweet personality at this point. Eating him/her is out of the question as he/she is a pet for our 3-year-old.

Thanks for your input, everyone.