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DOUBTING the sex of my "Hens" now.... help!?

post #1 of 10
6/16/12 at 2:52pm
Thread Starter 

I'm new to raising chickens and I was told that I was given two egg laying hens but I keep seeing pictures and I'm starting to doubt....

Are they male or female?

 

Barred Rock & Australorp

 

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S5000645.JPG

 

S5000648.JPG

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post #2 of 10
6/16/12 at 2:53pm

Two cockerels, sorry. You won't be getting any eggs from either one of those.
 

 

~A dog on its owner's property is a pet; A dog on someone else's property is a predator~

 

 

Living the Good Life in the North Georgia Mountains~ Cynthia

 

 

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~A dog on its owner's property is a pet; A dog on someone else's property is a predator~

 

 

Living the Good Life in the North Georgia Mountains~ Cynthia

 

 

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post #3 of 10
6/16/12 at 3:10pm
Thread Starter 

Thank you for clearing that up...

 

 

 

:(

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post #4 of 10
6/16/12 at 3:42pm
Thread Starter 

Just wondering, can you explain to me how you can tell? (I'm new  to this)

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post #5 of 10
6/16/12 at 3:45pm

How old are these birds?

Married to the old dude, 0 human kids, 2 horses, 10 cockatiels, 2 parakeets, 1 sun conure, 1 amazon parrot,  1 eccentric peacock, 1 gsd, 1 pet terrapin, 1 Blue Copper Maran rooster, and 14 world famous Jersey Giants!

 

 

Stan the Man will be missed.

 

 

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Married to the old dude, 0 human kids, 2 horses, 10 cockatiels, 2 parakeets, 1 sun conure, 1 amazon parrot,  1 eccentric peacock, 1 gsd, 1 pet terrapin, 1 Blue Copper Maran rooster, and 14 world famous Jersey Giants!

 

 

Stan the Man will be missed.

 

 

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post #6 of 10
6/16/12 at 3:46pm
Thread Starter 

Around 11/12 weeks.

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post #7 of 10
6/16/12 at 3:59pm

You asked how I know:

 

The Barred Rock is a cockerel color, much lighter than a pullet would be, which is the way barred varieties are, plus his legs are almost clean yellow. Pullets have some dark wash down the leg fronts most all the time. At that young age, pullets of that breed do not have huge red combs like that, either. Barred Rocks are my favorite of all so I've hatched and grown out literally hundreds of them.

 

 

The black one, probably an Australorp, has a pointy, shiny fringe of saddle feathers on the back, hanging over the side, just in front of the tail, as only males do.
 

 

Below are two of my BR hens when they were 12 weeks old--you see how dark they are and how small the combs are, not to mention, the leg color?

 

600x573px-LL-ed36d0be_DCP_7622.jpeg


Edited by speckledhen - 6/16/12 at 4:03pm

 

~A dog on its owner's property is a pet; A dog on someone else's property is a predator~

 

 

Living the Good Life in the North Georgia Mountains~ Cynthia

 

 

Reply

 

~A dog on its owner's property is a pet; A dog on someone else's property is a predator~

 

 

Living the Good Life in the North Georgia Mountains~ Cynthia

 

 

Reply
post #8 of 10
6/16/12 at 4:07pm
Thread Starter 

When my BR was younger, the legs were a lot darker (and I had read that online, so I just continued to think it) 

 

But if they are both cockerels, are they going to start fighting when they get older? Because I've never have a problem with them before, they are very loyal to each other, almost inseparable. They are kind and sweet to me, and other animals and everything. When are they going to start crowing? I haven't heard them make much noise at all.....

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post #9 of 10
6/16/12 at 4:11pm

They may not fight, especially if there are no hens to fight over.

 

And crowing can happen at any time. I've had chicks crow as young as four DAYS old or as late as 25 weeks old, but they may even wait longer than that. Most of my BRs are crowing before the age of 14 weeks.
 

 

~A dog on its owner's property is a pet; A dog on someone else's property is a predator~

 

 

Living the Good Life in the North Georgia Mountains~ Cynthia

 

 

Reply

 

~A dog on its owner's property is a pet; A dog on someone else's property is a predator~

 

 

Living the Good Life in the North Georgia Mountains~ Cynthia

 

 

Reply
post #10 of 10
6/16/12 at 5:32pm

I agree both are boys :(
 

Has 1 white miniature schnauzer, one grey tiger Kitty, 4 Miniature Horses, 1 Shetland Pony, 1 Grey Polish Bunny, currently 45 chickens of every different size, color and personality, 7 baby buff laced brahmas, 1 baby Gold laced Brahma, and one Royal Palm Turkey~

www.AshleysChickens.com
My FB Page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ashleys-Chickens/164589440297116
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Has 1 white miniature schnauzer, one grey tiger Kitty, 4 Miniature Horses, 1 Shetland Pony, 1 Grey Polish Bunny, currently 45 chickens of every different size, color and personality, 7 baby buff laced brahmas, 1 baby Gold laced Brahma, and one Royal Palm Turkey~

www.AshleysChickens.com
My FB Page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ashleys-Chickens/164589440297116
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BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Chicken Breeds › What Breed Or Gender is This? › DOUBTING the sex of my "Hens" now.... help!?