Help! Easter Egger hen or roo?

[SwedishDude99]

Here he/she is. (Hoping it's a she)

 

[Chicka and Co]

Bit hard to tell from the angle of the photo. Do you have a photo of he/she side on so you can see the legs?

 

[SwedishDude99]

I don't but I'll go take one

 

[SwedishDude99]

 

[ramirezframing]

That's a dark red for a ee pullet to have, I'm going rooster.

 

[chicken pickin]

That's a dark red for a ee pullet to have, I'm going rooster.

I have to agree with this. For now Im going with rooster.

EE roosters will typically have a splotchy pattern and dark red patches. EE roosters also have a visible 3 rowed pea comb at an early age, though your chicks comb is hard to see in the pics.

 

[Chicka and Co]

I don't know. He/she does seem to have quite large wings and legs though, so maybe cockerel. How old is he/she?

 

[SwedishDude99]

Uggggg! Not really what I wanted to hear.

I live in town and we can't keep roosters here. He/she is 4weeks old, that's why I was afraid of it being a roo. I bought pullets only, but there is always the chance of a roo, and I guess I got unlucky. How long should I wait it out to know for sure? If it's a roo I would like to get rid of him before he starts crowing so as not to get complaints from neighbors. He/she is the friendlier chick I have (only two in the brooder, but will be going in with four adult hens).

 

[chicken pickin]

Uggggg! Not really what I wanted to hear.

I live in town and we can't keep roosters here. He/she is 4weeks old, that's why I was afraid of it being a roo. I bought pullets only, but there is always the chance of a roo, and I guess I got unlucky. How long should I wait it out to know for sure? If it's a roo I would like to get rid of him before he starts crowing so as not to get complaints from neighbors. He/she is the friendlier chick I have (only two in the brooder, but will be going in with four adult hens).

If he does turn out to be a rooster I would try to keep him as long as possible, really only to keep the other chick company until she can join the adult chickens, and then rehome him.

If that's not something you want to do you will likely know for sure if its a rooster in the next 2-3 weeks. If its a rooster he could start to crow anytime between now and many many months from now, all roosters are different, though 4-5 months is roughly average.

 

[ramirezframing]

You should be able to wait a few more weeks, but birds develop at different rates just like humans. You should think of getting another chick or two before you re-home this one if it is indeed a rooster. Chickens do better with buddies and when it comes time to integrate into the older hens, its always good to have more than 1 new bird coming in.