Help! Easter Egger hen or roo?

[KieksterChicken]

Donrae or CCCCchickens etc.(HINT HINT YOU GUYS!). Thank you for the new pics! They are perfect!

I'm not seeing 3 rows of peas indicating a roo, Then again I'm maybe seeing a somewhat enlarged row of single peas which is more pullet.

.lol. Sorry, I know this isn't helping you. Perhaps someone with more experience with this type of comb can chime in. Guess I have lucked out in that all my pea combed breeds had a distinctive comb by the time they were the age of your bird there so I was able to easily determine roo or pullet by the rows of peas. I really think you need to wait this one out 4 more weeks. It won't hurt anything by doing that. If it turns out to be roo by then you still have a place for it to go and possibly a pullet of the same age to replace him. Take the next with a grain of salt as the rules may be different where you live : If you are worried about the city fining you for having a roo before you are able to get rid of him, they usually give you a warning about it (only after someone has complained and/or a city code enforcement officer confirms you are in violation.) with a reasonable time period to get rid of him. If you still have him when the grace period is up then they can fine you. I would suggest you check what procedure they use as far as that goes just to be safe though. If the majority of the next few experienced chicken owner posters in this thread like Donrae or CCCCchickens etc.(HINT HINT YOU GUYS!)say roo then I stand corrected.

 

[SwedishDude99]

Thankyou Kieksterchicken! I am not even supposed to have a s many hens as I do, so I'm technically already in violation though our neighbors are cool and don't complain. They like to bring their kids over to feed the hens and the ducks we have. If we had a crowing too though, it might be a different story... And the second he starts to crow I can drive him to his new home (it's about 10 mins away from me). I will post updated pics in a week or two and show you guys the progress. Thank you again!

 

[KieksterChicken]

Swedish, I'm letting you in on a secret, I'm not supposed to have any chickens either. I live in a downtown area in the business district only 2 blocks from city hall and have 5 hens and a rooster and I have had them here for 1 year! EEK! Don't tell anyone. Luckily all the businesses around here love our chickens too, they even like the rooster crowing. I am glad you have a place for your maybe rooster..lol.

 

[SwedishDude99]

Wow! That close to city hall? And with a ton of businesses? We live in a small neighborhood where most of the people are elderly. Most of them grew up on they arm so they enjoy the sounds the hens make in the morning. They say it brings back memories. I bring them fresh eggs all the time and so between the two I'm able to keep them happy and not wanting to call the police on me. I don't think I'd ever attempt keeping a roo though. I'd be afraid of getting caught and getting some of my hens and both of my ducks taken away as well as the roo. Once I graduate high school and eventually buy my own house, I am determined to buy property that will allow me a roo and of course some goats,sheep, cows, pigs, geese, etc... Lol ok maybe not ALL of those, but I would like some sheep. And alpacas.

 

[KieksterChicken]

Lol! Sounds like a great plan! Here is a link to a Wikipedia article about Jacob sheep. I think you might find it really interesting when you find out how awesome these animals are. I plan on breeding them in the future when I am able to buy a place with enough acreage outside of city limits. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_(sheep)
Jacob sheep are an heirloom breed. If you are serious about breeding animals when you graduate I suggest you check out heirloom breeds of animals and plants. That would help preserve valuable genetic material and help to keep them from disappearing. I'm really hoping to be able to have a few heirloom breeds someday. Check out this link. It shows you all the different heritage livestock breeds, many of which are an endangered livestock species.http://www.livestockconservancy.org/

 

[debid]

Cockerel. The taller center row just means he has a single combed bird in his parentage. The splotchy red with a concentrated zone on the wing and early development of the comb are masculine traits.

 

[KieksterChicken]

Ty debid. That really makes sense since it's an EE and has other breeds mixed in. I thought the color pattern looked roo too..and the pinkness of his comb..but the comb type was throwing me off..lol. This is why I love BackYard Chickens. It's such a great place to learn.

 

[SwedishDude99]

Thanks for the link Kieksterchicken! I will definitely check that out. And thank you debid the comb thing makes sense. I'm positive he's a roo now, but my mom really wants blue eggs to add to our basket so she's holding onto hope still.
My mom, who isn't even really interested in my chickens, spent all night last night scouring the internet trying to prove to me (and probably more to herself) that he is really a hen. I told her she could believe what she wants, but I'm gonna listen to the people of BYC, not wikepedia. And yeah, she was trying to prove me wrong using wikepedia.

 

[KieksterChicken]

Lol! Well you have to respect her for at least taking the time to do that. Maybe you can talk to the people you are giving the roo to to see if they can give you an older EE pullet in exchange for him? Bet that would be a nice surprise for your mom. After all, Mothers Day is less than 4 weeks away.

I think she likes your chickens a lot more than she is letting on..hehe!

 

[SwedishDude99]

Haha I'm pretty sure she likes them at least a little too. I'll go into he coop after school and there will be bowls of food and a chair out there. I think she spends a little bit of time with them at least while I'm at school. I mean, how can you not love chickens?
And I will see about getting a hen from them. But should I wait to do that until the pullet I have is closer in size to an adult chicken?