Buff Orpington Roo or Hen?

[sheepnchicks]

My 10-year-old son bought a couple chickens back in August. One is a Buff Orpington and we have no idea what gender this chicken is! It has a small comb and wattle. It hangs out with our rooster all the time and we see them fight. Its very bossy. Its obviously big enough to crow but no crow and no eggs. It lets my kids pick it up. Doesn't fight them. Its about 6 months old I believe. Its also a very large chicken.

 

[nchls school]

Rooster-I think. The comb and wattles do look small, but…the feathering...

 

[sheepnchicks]

The feathering has had me thrown off. The feathering has changed a lot over the last week and that pic is from yesterday. That has me leaning towards a rooster but the fact that it doesn't crow and I've never seen it pay any attention to the hen and the small comb and wattle has me lean back towards hen.

 

[mymilliefleur]

This is a tricky one.

I'm going with rooster though based on those saddle and sickle feathers I see coming it. My guess is that he is just a late bloomer and will start crowing soon. Oh, and

 

[sheepnchicks]

Thank you! Would anything keep a rooster from crowing?

 

[StarMeKritten]

No doubt about it. He's 100% rooster. He will start crowing eventually. There are "no crow" collars that you can get but I have no experience with them so I'm not sure how well they work.

 

[Michael OShay]

Your BO is a cockerel. I've never personally used No Crow Collars but they definitely have mixed reviews from BYC members and some members have expressed serious concerns about them. You can see some of these reviews at https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/967331/no-crow-rooster-collar.

 

[sheepnchicks]

Sorry, when I asked what would keep a roo from crowing, I mean, this rooster is very large and I've never heard a peep from him. Why would a rooster this large not be crowing by now? Between the small wattle and comb and no crowing sounds we assumed it was a hen til recently. The saddle feathers and extremely largeness led me to think maybe a roo? We have a Black Ausralorp roo about the same age and he's been crowing for a good while now.

 

[Michael OShay]

Sorry, when I asked what would keep a roo from crowing, I mean, this rooster is very large and I've never heard a peep from him. Why would a rooster this large not be crowing by now? Between the small wattle and comb and no crowing sounds we assumed it was a hen til recently. The saddle feathers and extremely largeness led me to think maybe a roo? We have a Black Ausralorp roo about the same age and he's been crowing for a good while now.

Cockerels usually begin crowing from 4-5 months, but sometimes one will take considerably longer, and on rare occasions, it can be nearly a year.

 

[nchls school]

Sorry, when I asked what would keep a roo from crowing, I mean, this rooster is very large and I've never heard a peep from him. Why would a rooster this large not be crowing by now? Between the small wattle and comb and no crowing sounds we assumed it was a hen til recently. The saddle feathers and extremely largeness led me to think maybe a roo? We have a Black Ausralorp roo about the same age and he's been crowing for a good while now.

A rare possibility-Hermaphrodite. It does happen occasionally.