Do I have a rooster?

[ChickenWifey]

Im very new to having chicks, only had them for 3 weeks now, but they are starting to get big! I cannot have a rooster where I live. How can I tell? I have Wyandottes if that makes a difference. The place we ordered them from only says that there will be 90% hens so we are pretty sure that we have at least one rooster.

How can you "make" a hen? How can they tell at 1 day old that they might be hens? Im sorry im such a newb!!

 

[Bullitt]

All the hatcheries say they guarantee 90 percent with sexing, because sometimes they make mistakes. I think they just look very closely "under the hood" to see which are boys and which are girls.

It should soon be obvious which are pullets and if any are cockerels.

Cities just do not want roosters crowing, so you don't have to worry about that for a while. You should be able to tell if you have any cockerels soon.

 

[fried green eggs]

from Michigan
If you have any roosters their comb will start to get kind of red colored and grow larger than hens before long.

 

[ChickenWifey]

All the hatcheries say they guarantee 90 percent with sexing, because sometimes they make mistakes. I think they just look very closely "under the hood" to see which are boys and which are girls.

It should soon be obvious which are pullets and if any are cockerels.

Cities just do not want roosters crowing, so you don't have to worry about that for a while. You should be able to tell if you have any cockerels soon.

Sry, what is a pullet and cockrel, is that hen and rooster?? How long does it take for a rooster to start to crow?

How can they sex the eggs? Im just really curious!

 

[ChickenWifey]

from Michigan
If you have any roosters their comb will start to get kind of red colored and grow larger than hens before long.

This is what im worried about. There are like 2-3 chicks that are MUCH bigger than the rest.......

 

[ScottM]

The forum, "what breed or gender is this?" has lots of info about sexing.

A trained chicken sexier can push out the insides of a chick and recognize what makes a male or a female, and it isn't as straightforward as u may think. Or some breeds you can tell just by looking at the feathers. As for how ey 'make' boys, I'll let u figure that one out rather than just tell you the unfortunate truth.

/scott

 

[Alesia]

i dont think that they do "sex" eggs i think they sex the chicks as they hatch though i may be wrong

 

[ChickenWifey]

from Michigan
If you have any roosters their comb will start to get kind of red colored and grow larger than hens before long.

Also, what part of MI are you from? I grew up in IN and it was near Michigan! Ever heard of Wakarusa, IN? Its near Goshen

 

[ChickenWifey]

The forum, "what breed or gender is this?" has lots of info about sexing.
A trained chicken sexier can push out the insides of a chick and recognize what makes a male or a female, and it isn't as straightforward as u may think. Or some breeds you can tell just by looking at the feathers. As for how ey 'make' boys, I'll let u figure that one out rather than just tell you the unfortunate truth.
/scott

Wait.... You can "make" the chickens be boys? OMG

 

[Popcorn Mcgee]

I am also a chicken newbie. I have two Buff Brahmas that are 3 weeks old. One is supposed to be a rooster and one a hen. Their feathers are different in shading, one being lighter than the other, and the lighter one has longer tail feathers at the moment and more feathers. The lighter one is also the most agressive of the group. I have four total, two buff brahmas, one golden buff and one white cochin. I'll try to post some pictures of the two Buff Brahmas.