Gold-Laced Polish gender

[MusiGal]

Can anyone tell me if Ava should be Alan? We have a sneeking suspicion that she is a he. Only because of looks. "She" has never crowed or anything, but we also have a Rhode Island Red Rooster who is MUCH bigger and may be supressing that. LOL






"She's" 4 months old in both of these pics.

Thanks, in advance, everyone, for your help!! You guys were so helpful when I was trying to determine if one of my RIRs was a Rooster and, boy, is he ever (he finally found his voice 2 weeks ago...he's a Baritone!) I wouldn't trade him for anything, though. He's probably my most timid of the flock, second only to this one pictured above!

 

[Perfect Polish]

Roo defently heres my hen

 

[MusiGal]

Thanks, Perfect, your hen is gorgeous!

I was afraid this was the case. I only have 7 chickens in my flock and now 2 are roosters. It's not an issue as far as zoning is concerned, I'm on 3 acres, but I don't know if having 2 Roos is a good thing or not in such a small flock. My RIR is already trying to mount my Buff Orpington and she's not really all that happy about it. He seems to leave the others alone (2 Barred Rocks, an Easter Egger and another RIR). Maybe this explains my RIR Rooster's aversion to "Ava". We always figured it was because he was thinking what a wacky broad she was ("her" behavior can be really strange sometimes...that's for another post, I suppose), but I guess it's because he already knew she was a he.

Thanks!

 

[Tricoglossus]

Only 7 chickens? Well there's an easy solution to your problem... Get a few more pullets!

 

[spikennipper]

Can anyone tell me if Ava should be Alan? We have a sneeking suspicion that she is a he. Only because of looks. "She" has never crowed or anything, but we also have a Rhode Island Red Rooster who is MUCH bigger and may be supressing that. LOL






"She's" 4 months old in both of these pics.

Thanks, in advance, everyone, for your help!! You guys were so helpful when I was trying to determine if one of my RIRs was a Rooster and, boy, is he ever (he finally found his voice 2 weeks ago...he's a Baritone!) I wouldn't trade him for anything, though. He's probably my most timid of the flock, second only to this one pictured above!

"She" looks like a pullet to me with a rather windswept crest! please keep us updated in developments

 

[alb9202]

Looks like a cockerel to me? The saddle feathers are exceptionally dark, and are those hackle feathers I see? I am no expert, not 100% but that's my vote

 

[Wyandottes7]

That is a cockerel! You can tell because of the pointy crest feathers, dark coloring, and large comb.

 

[MusiGal]

I'm a little concerned now. My HUGE RIR Rooster was mounting poor Ava tonight (she/he is tiny comparably). He or She is already scared to death of him since our little incident over the weekend. Here's the link to that post if you're so inclined. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/813877/funniest-thing-ive-ever-seen#post_11807653 Anyway, so I caught Big Red mounting Ava in the pen and heard Ava "scream" about 15 mintues later and can only assume it was for the same reason. They're all on their roost for the night and all is well now that it's nightfall. Do roosters not recognize other roosters or is this a dominance thing or could it be that Ava is really a she? Got my first egg yesterday from one of my Barred Rocks and since all my flock are the same age, I expect the rest will begin laying shortly. Ava, if she is a she, is the only hen that will be laying a small white egg...everyone else will lay brown eggs or something other than white. Soooo, if I find a small white egg in the coming days, then I'll know...and if I don't...well, then I guess I'll still know. LOL. Thank you all for allowing me to "work this out" on this forum, you all have been so helpful and I've learned so much. It's making this newbie feel a lot more comfortable with this new adventure.

 

[Tricoglossus]

Could you please post some more pictures of Ava? In the picture you posted of her above, I cannot see any saddle or hackle feathers at all so I think she is female. I hope your RIR isn't squashing her. By the way males can and do mount other males and not only in chickens, many other species do it too.

 

[MusiGal]

Thanks for your help. He doesn't seem to be squashing her, but she spends much time running from him. So much, in fact, that after letting them out to range around the yard this evening, I caught her standing way off from the rest of the flock and she was nodding off to sleep. Then she let me pick her up (a rarity) and I held her for almost 10 minutes and I think she fell asleep in my arms! Only woke up when my husband approached us. Poor thing must be exhausted. Anyway, here are the additional photos you asked for. I've given you lots of different shots, so hopefully you can tell from these. Thanks again!!