Hen or Roo? What do you think?

[myjunoli]

Hi All,

TIA for your help! This morning I heard what sounded like a pitiful crow come from what I thought was a silver laced wyandotte hen. It never made this noise before. Upon closer inspection and some internet searching I think I might have a rooster. It is 9 weeks old and the dominant one of my bunch. Would you mind taking a peak and letting me know your opinion?

close up:


full:

 

[hinkjc]

Yes, that looks like a boy to me.

 

[HEChicken]

Yep - looks like he is the source of your crowing.

 

[sbucciarel]

Beautiful rooster

 

[myjunoli]

So what is it that makes you think it's a he?

 

[leadwolf1]

Beautiful roo and he will tell you all about it every chance he gets

 

[rachlore]

I can tell its a roo cause the tail feathers are so long, only roosters have those.

 

[lisamarie124]

A ROOSTER FOR SURE!!!!...VERY PRETTY TOO!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

The concentrated areas of white on the wings shows a rooster for this breed.

 

[HEChicken]

So what is it that makes you think it's a he?

The redness of the comb and the red wattle development (at 9 weeks this is too much red to be a hen). Also, if you look at the feathers on the neck - the "hackle" feathers, you can see that they are starting to get pointy. Likewise, the "saddle" feathers, those just before the tail, are starting to get pointy and hang towards the ground. In a hen, both the hackle and the saddle feathers will be round and the saddle feathers will point towards the tail instead of the ground. Last, the long, starting-to-curve tail feathers indicate a roo.

All of these things will get more pronounced as time goes on.