robinef
In the Brooder
Hi everyone! We are new to the chicken arena, but having so much fun with our kiddos 
A couple of months ago, my fiance brought home two chicks from a coworker's farm..they were probably a few weeks old at the time. We had no clue about the sex (or breed!) for awhile. We're thinking they are barred yard, but certainly could be something else. One was definitely larger, with a more notable tail feather pattern. However, it was (and still is) the "follower" of the two... very docile, the second to leave the run, the second to eat/drink, and always runs to catch up with its sibling when the other one is scoping out a new part of the yard. Now, the two look very very similar. The tail feathers are a little bit lighter, and it has a weird, puffy feather-cheek thing happening. We always thought there was a chance it'd be a rooster just because it was larger initially. This morning, I heard a definite crow come from that chicken around 7 am a handful of times when I was walking up to let them out of the pen. I could be wrong, but it might've been when a choral of dogs started barking. We live in a neighborhood with lots of animals. Again, we're really not sure on age, guessing about 3 months now? I'll attach some pictures. Is it too early to know for sure? Any chance she's a hen?? And if not, what do we do? We want to keep it, but definitely don't want fertilized eggs, and also city ordinances are obviously in place against roosters. Also, we don't want to leave our hen alone without another chicken, but I'm afraid she will beat up on any new chicks we introduce. 
Thank you!!
A couple of months ago, my fiance brought home two chicks from a coworker's farm..they were probably a few weeks old at the time. We had no clue about the sex (or breed!) for awhile. We're thinking they are barred yard, but certainly could be something else. One was definitely larger, with a more notable tail feather pattern. However, it was (and still is) the "follower" of the two... very docile, the second to leave the run, the second to eat/drink, and always runs to catch up with its sibling when the other one is scoping out a new part of the yard. Now, the two look very very similar. The tail feathers are a little bit lighter, and it has a weird, puffy feather-cheek thing happening. We always thought there was a chance it'd be a rooster just because it was larger initially. This morning, I heard a definite crow come from that chicken around 7 am a handful of times when I was walking up to let them out of the pen. I could be wrong, but it might've been when a choral of dogs started barking. We live in a neighborhood with lots of animals. Again, we're really not sure on age, guessing about 3 months now? I'll attach some pictures. Is it too early to know for sure? Any chance she's a hen?? And if not, what do we do? We want to keep it, but definitely don't want fertilized eggs, and also city ordinances are obviously in place against roosters. Also, we don't want to leave our hen alone without another chicken, but I'm afraid she will beat up on any new chicks we introduce. Thank you!!
