Found mystery chicken on my property... Rooster or hen? What breed is it? I need to rehome if it's a

[ChickenLady2012]

About two weeks ago a chicken showed up outside my property fence. When we let the "stranger" onto the property it found interest in our chicken, our flock was out free ranging. My husband told me that the stranger stuck his head into the run and my rooster Chuck, and the stranger chicken were fighting thru the fence. My rooster is a 3yr old RIR and he got some decent pecks on his comb but nothing crazy. We decided that stranger was probably from our neighbors and we sent him on his way, cause we couldn't catch him. About a week later stranger keep showing up by our fence..... Long story short, he's been living in our blackberry bushes for this whole time. We ended up catching him and the neighbors around us have not claimed him, so now the chicken is living in an old chicken run we have and I need to find him a new home for it! I have no clue to what breed,age or sex of the chicken.... On one leg looks like a 1.5in spur but nothing on the other leg. It hasn't tried to crow and I haven't found an egg....the feathers look primarily rounded but it has fairly long tall feathers, at first the stranger was scared and didn't want you to get close to hi, at all but over the past few days, stranger will walk right around you, and doesn't freak out if you try and touch him, I'm kinda lost! Please help.

 

[brandoncakes]

looks like a leghorn pullet. The spur kinda confuses me. try feeling the two bones behind the vent. if they're super close together(less than an inch) it could be a male, or a pullet who hasnt begun to lay yet. If it's set wide apart(over 2 inches), it's definitely a pullet, or maybe a hen in this case since she has a long spur.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

It's a game bird of some type...probably Old English Game...they are flighty and excellent flyers but can be tamed and quite sweet to humans.

Its comb and wattles are not that large for a mature OEGB...so it could either be a young roo or a mature female. Since it was fighting with your RIR roo already, I think it likely that it is a young roo and not a hen. It's saddle and sickle feathers haven't developed yet. Game roo's will often fight any other rooster...that was what they were bred for...cock fighting.

It probably broke off one of its spurs.

Keep it in isolation and check for disease and parasites. Provide a higher protein feed for it. Keep handling it to tame it. Clip wings if needed since they are excellent flyers.

Someone will likely want it. Make sure it doesn't end up in an illegal cock ring off of Craig's List.

My thoughts
Lady of McCamley

 

[popsicle]

I vote Leghorn--and pullet/hen. Looks to have white earlobes, floppy comb, etc.

 

[daisychicken]

Well first it looks like a young rooster. It is a white leghorn for sure.
Also try putting it on craigslist say it the gender is not certain if you do. I can explain the spur. I have a rooster who had two spurs and one broke off and never grew back. SO i am not 100% sure just take my advice into consideration

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

It is not a game breed, no where close. It is a leghorn pullet.And to the person who confused about a spur some hens will get spurs too.

 

[Wyandottes7]

It is not a game breed, no where close. It is a leghorn pullet.And to the person who confused about a spur some hens will get spurs too.

X2

 

[chickenboy190]

It is not a game breed, no where close. It is a leghorn pullet.And to the person who confused about a spur some hens will get spurs too.

x3

 

[Lady of McCamley]

After viewing others' thoughts I thought I'd re-investigate and recomment...If I resize the thumbnail (for some reason the photo won't get out of a thumbnail size for me), I can see a floppy type comb and can agree it might be a Leghorn mix...but I don't think it is a pure Leghorn though as its legs are not yellow...and it may have some game in it.

But I'm also not in horrible error for thinking it looks game bird-ish. Interestingly the Mediterranean Leghorn is a lighter breed with some game type appearance (but not game blood, although its ancestry is somewhat a mystery).
Here's a photo of an Old English Game hen so you can see what I mean:

Many game breeds are very distinct with really long wings and sprayed tails (like the Seabrights) which would never be confused with a Leghorn, but some of the Old English Standard types have a "squattier" more "Mediterranean" look which I suspect goes back to some common ancestors. Many Leghorns (especially more European types) also exhibit more of a "gamier" appearance.

As to gender. Since we don't know the age (and birds vary in development) it might be a young developing roo or a more mature hen.


The fact the bird has a developed comb with spurs but no sickle feathers, saddle, or pointy hackles is interesting and gives points towards the hen side. Hens can have spurs (especially the Mediterranean breeds). However, the development of spurs varies and can happen as early as 3 months in some birds...sickle feathers/saddle/pointy hackles usually would be developing around then too but can delay.so we might have an odd case of spurs developing before the young roo's male feathers.

What I find most interesting is the bird's behavior. This bird, given the choice of its free range and hiding in its home brambles, chooses to come out and fight at the fence line with the RIR roo. In my experience, typically that's a roo type behavior especially for an outsider in the flock. And typcially a young roo's behavior as it seeks to take on the master roo to begin establishing itself.

It still could be an aggressive hen trying to establish herself in the pecking order but with the circumstances of this bird's existence I find it more likely to be roo behavior. I've watched many of my broods integrate into the established flock and the subsequent squirmishes and those pullets that choose to hide themselves in brambles are on the low side of the pecking order and will run rather than fight.

My thoughts again.

Good luck figuring this out and what to do with the bird. I'm glad you've got it in isolation from the flock now. Hopefully it won't bring any disease into the flock as its been existing for some time without care in the wilds.

Lady of McCamley

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

It is not a game breed, no where close. It is a leghorn pullet.And to the person who confused about a spur some hens will get spurs too.

x4

I can explain the lack of yellow legs--if this bird started laying a few months ago, she may have lost the yellow coloration in her legs already. My Leghorn hens all have almost white legs by two months after they start laying. Most yellow-skinned birds will lose that yellow pigment when they lay a bunch of eggs.