Help me - chicken has gender confusion

[Pollo Posada]

I have a chicken whose gender is really in question. I caught the cockerel (crowing now so I know it's a boy) trying to mate with it yesterday. So, I thought, ok, it's a pullet. Yeah!

And yet, today, I caught that same chicken trying to mate with one of my obvious pullets!

What is going on? Thoughts - is it a male or female? I am scared now that it may be male! It is an EE chicken - just an FYI. I didn't want a roo in the first place and maybe now I have two!

I got all of my chickens from a man who said that they were all born in November and December. None of the females are laying yet in case that helps to age them better. They look close to full size.

What age would a typical cockerel start crowing? If I have one already crowing, would the others just not crow if they were male? Or, if I only hear 1 crowing, does that mean the rest are female?

I was hoping that because they are all relatively the same age and only 1 has a very large comb, waddles, and big mouth that the rest are pullets. But now I am wondering...

Thanks for your help, all. I am a chicken newbie! And am probably going to really annoy my neighbor if I get any more crowing roosters!

 

[klf73]

I have boys that mount other boys, been told it's a dominance thing. If you post pics, especially of the combs, we could check it out and see what ya got

 

[chickenlove2009]

I totally agree with klf73. I had a roo that i did not even know was a roo(he even sat on eggs) and he was full grown. i never heard him crow (but one day i caught him. hehe he)

 

[tellynpeep]

My dominant hen mounts the other hens (but no crowing!)

 

[Heidina]

My biggest and youngest hen - daughter of the roo, does an excellent imitation of the roo's cock-a-doodle-do. When she was integrated into the flock, it took her only a few weeks before she ostracized the old top hen and put herself at the top of the pecking order; and now, along with laying the biggest eggs, she's crowing, too! Like birds calling, the rooster will crow, and then the hen will answer.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Yep, some hens crow. The ones who do may do it rarely, occasionally or regularly.

Mating can be a dominance thing. I had (he's since gone to live at a neighbor's) a rooster who would chase and mate with any and all roosters who he was not raised with, or who didn't stand up to him. One poor fella would see him coming and literally run screaming--and he naturally was a target.

 

[Pollo Posada]

Well, the mystery is solved. He was a cockerel afterall. He started to crow and the other roo started to chase him all over the yard. They were sooooo loud battling it out.

Needless to say, the newer cockerel is now gone. The man I got them all from (the Chicken Man) took him back yesterday and traded me a hen instead. I have been lucky to have worked with a man that said if any turn out to be male, just bring them back. I want to take back the roo too but my husband likes him! I wish he would stop crowing so dang early!

On a side note - I GOT MY FIRST EGG TODAY! Nice and green! Yippee! It is the first egg that I ever got myself! It was sooooo exciting. Nobody else that I told seemed to care all that much but I figure you all here could relate!!!

Too bad I currently have 3 dozen more in the frig that the chicken man gave me yesterday when he dropped off the hen!

Thanks everyone!!!

 

[Pollo Posada]

Umm, yeah, forgot about the April Fool "E g g to rooster" glitch thing.

I GOT MY FIRST HUEVO TODAY! YEAH!!!

HUEVOS RANCHEROS! Try to change that, glitch!