Hen or roo

[FunClucks]

Whelp, my questionable chicken is a roo. Coming up on 6 months, he now crows. Here is a side pic of the brilliant white ears. Way different than my girls and their tan ears, I’m guessing he’s a mixed male that got thrown in. Do hatcherys really do that? Kinda dashes my hopes of breeding my hens. If anyone has thoughts on mixed breeds, that would be welcome. Thanks everyone!

Hatcheries don't do mixed breeds. However, they have designer breeds, or breeds that they create and give cool names. These are "mixed" from the standard breeds, but on purpose to have specific characteristics. Some of them can be pretty awesome. If I were you, I'd go through all the hatchery offerings and see if you can ID roosters of each breed they offer. Might have to look elsewhere than the hatchery's website to find good pictures, on here would be a good idea too. You might find an answer. Or you could try and contact them and send them pics and ask. If you ordered sexed pullets, you could also get your money back for that bird because he was a cockerel.

ETA: Sometimes the hatcheries send extra males to make sure the chicks as a group can generate enough body heat during shipment. They'll send 6 female or whatever you ordered, then throw in one or two "packing peanuts". Was he your packing peanut?