Does this mean I have a roo?

[AshleyFarm]

I have two bantam/Ameracauna mixes. One hen and one Roo. My hen hatched out three little fluff balls in August. They are now 9 weeks old and I've noticed for the past few morning's one has been making an odd sound. It's three notes. They don't sound exactly like a crow but being little maybe. They are very close to a window where they can hear my other roosters crow. Is it imitating what they hear or is it a roo?

 

[blairctchickens]

Most likely they are imitating the sounds, unless you get a full sound crow you might not know yet due to their age. Look for saddle feathers coming in on the back and you will know if you have a roo. I attached a picture for your viewing enjoyment,

below to show what the rooster feathers are called.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It’s hard to say without being there to hear, but some people have mentioned they’ve had male chicks try to crow at 2 weeks. You certainly cannot rule it out. Even when they are 4 to 5 months old the effort at crowing often sounds really funny, more of a squeak than anything else. To me it is a real strong clue to sex though.

If you could post photos showing a close-up of the head so we can see comb and especially wattles size and color we can give you some guesses. Usually by nine weeks you can make some educated guesses. Also important to me is a shot showing the profile for posture, any tail feathers, and the legs. Legs on males are usually heavier and longer. All these things are sometimes just clues, not absolute identification, but by now we should be able to help.

 

[junebuggena]

My 9 weeks old, you should be able to determine gender fairly easily by comb development and plumage coloring.

 

[AshleyFarm]

Ok let me get some pictures up. Ill post them in just a few minutes

 

[AshleyFarm]

The first two are identical. So here is a pic of one to show both.

 

[junebuggena]

Full body, natural lighting please.

 

[AshleyFarm]

I dont know which one makes the noise but if i were to guess which one was male id day this one. This one is bigger and his comb in more developed than the other two. Theyre bantams so they have an attitude to begin with but this one has a bit more.

 

[AshleyFarm]

Heres the full body of the first. I didnt edit the pix so its the natural lighting of my bathroom lol

 

[junebuggena]

By natural lighting, I meant outside. Indoor lighting can distort comb color.