Best guess is this a rooster? Did we get scammed?

[ww0473]

First time chicken owner (probably obviously). We purchased 10 chicks, which we are comfortable are girls. But we got impatient and decided we would also buy started chickens, so we could have eggs earlier. Drove several hours and bought these 2 chickens, without knowing anything about them. Told they were black sexlink hens about year old that are laying. We have had them 2 weeks and 0 eggs. We though maybe stress of the move was keeping them from laying. I think also they may have been sick at first, but seem to be doing better now. Was big mistake buying them. But anyway, now that we have had them for 2.5 weeks, I am wondering if one of them is a rooster. Neither of them make any sound, no crows, barely even any clucks, except when we try to pick them up. What is your best guess if this one is really a rooster, how can I tell for sure?

 

[Dawnclucks22]

How old are they? Bottom one looks like a hen. Sexlinks depends on their color to tell you what sex they are (not sure about black sexlinks as I’ve never had one but I’m sure there are reference images.) Age could also be the reason they’re not laying.

 

[ww0473]

We were told they were 1 year old. I dont know for sure. The one that really looks like a hen is very grey in the beak and comb. I think she looks at least a year. But we dont know.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They look like girls to me. They don't like change. Stress of change stops ovulation. No ovulation, no eggs. If one was a male, he would be mating the other one every day or a few times a day and a year old rooster would likely crow every morning. The wing and hackle feathers would be pointy rather than rounded and the tail would be longer and curved. Male black sex-links also have barred feathering when mature.
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sex-links/BRKSexLink.html
Did you quarantine them?

 

[LateBirdFarms]

The one with the bigger comb looks like a hen to my largely untrained eyes, the fact that the comb is much larger than the other one only tells me that she's a little older than the other possibly. You maye have gotten ready-to-lay pullets, which doesn't always mean they are laying yet, but will soon. I've had to wait a good month before some of my ready to lay girls were comfortable enough to give up the goods, so to speak. Something else to consider is your amount of light, do you have any artificial light in the coop or do they have access to the required14hrs of daylight? Are they cooped up until well after sunrise in the dark? I've got a few young ladies that look about the same size/comb development as the smaller of your two and they probably won't start laying for me for another few weeks, just from my experience.

Hang in there! You'll get those eggs eventually and when you do you won't believe how happy that little calcium wrapped package will make you!

(Just make sure you follow Chicken Canoe's advice to quarantine. I don't imagine you tossed em in with itty bitty chicks or you would have been asking about what to do with chickens killing your chicks, but be very careful about touching your babies and their food, etc after doing your chores for the big girls)

 

[ww0473]

Thanks for the reply. They are quarantined, they are the only two we have in the coop/run. The other chicks we have are only 2.5 weeks old and are still in the brooder/run by themselves. As far as our concern about sickness, the smaller one seemed to show signs of sickness about 4 days after we got them. All the symptoms she showed were of "gape worm" we got a dewormer and gave it to her for 5 days and she is not showing those signs any longer. But they both seem to have a cough and one has started a runny nose. Aside from not getting eggs, I am afraid they has some sort of respiratory disease. I cant take them back where I got them from, and dont really have access to a vet. So just wondering if I need to get rid of them, before the chicks get old enough to go in the coop.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What state/country are you in?

 

[ww0473]

Florida