Help my hen is a rooster!!

[Tweety64]

I got a couple of chicks to add to my coop about six months ago. Once they were large enough to go outside, I moved them to a smaller coop alongside my large coop. One found a hole and got eaten. The other has been doing well, but is definitely at the bottom of the pecking order.
The past few weeks, it has gotten more colorful, larger, and has a much bigger comb than the other Rhode Island Reds that I have. The tail feathers are turning black and staring to curve downwards. I really believe it is a rooster, but it doesn't crow and is scared of all the other hens. (I have Buff Orpingtons and EasterEggers too.) I have a total of 8 chickens.
When can I expect the rooster to crow and mate?

 

[BantamLover21]

I got a couple of chicks to add to my coop about six months ago. Once they were large enough to go outside, I moved them to a smaller coop alongside my large coop. One found a hole and got eaten. The other has been doing well, but is definitely at the bottom of the pecking order.
The past few weeks, it has gotten more colorful, larger, and has a much bigger comb than the other Rhode Island Reds that I have. The tail feathers are turning black and staring to curve downwards. I really believe it is a rooster, but it doesn't crow and is scared of all the other hens. (I have Buff Orpingtons and EasterEggers too.) I have a total of 8 chickens.
When can I expect the rooster to crow and mate?

To be sure your suspected rooster is really a rooster, I would post some photos of "him" in the What Breed or Gender is This? section of the BYC forum. If he were a rooster, he would probably be crowing by now, but individual birds mature at different rates, so yours could just be a slow developer. Hopefully, even if he is a rooster, you can keep him!

In my experience, roosters usually begin crowing at 8-12 weeks of age, unless they are low in the pecking order. If that is the case, they may be 6+ months old before they make their first crow. Roosters generally start getting interested in mating hens when they're about 5-6 months of age, but it is often a few months after that before they are actually serious about it.

 

[Tweety64]

Here are some pics. The chicken is a RIR, about 6 months old, and the bottom of the pecking order.

 

[BantamLover21]

Here are some pics. The chicken is a RIR, about 6 months old, and the bottom of the pecking order.

Yes, that is a rooster. Should be crowing soon, and/or trying to mate hens.

 

[Kelsie2290]

X2 you have a cockerel there. At six months, he should start crowing and trying to mate hens any day now if he isn't already, if he is the only rooster, if you have another dominant rooster, the older one may keep the RIR in check for awhile.

 

[Tweety64]

Thanks for the help. He is still scared of the girls, but occasionally will puff up his neck feathers at them. Hopefully, I will get some chicks in the future. All the hens are molting now.