Hen or rooster

[Carmouche]

View attachment 1488178 View attachment 1488169 View attachment 1488170 View attachment 1488172 View attachment 1488176 View attachment 1488178View attachment 1488172 Can anyone tell me if these are hens or rooster and how can you tell? They are 4 months old. ThanksView attachment 1488169

 

[sourland]

All birds pictured are pullets.

 

[Carmouche]

Thank you I thought so but just wanted to make sure.

 

[cmom]

They look to be females to me too.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

Pullets

How do we tell?
well,
1. Any bird that has a red comb and wattles before laying age, is a cockerel.
2. At 12 weeks, males will develop pointy saddle, hackle, and sickle feathers.

Your girls have all female feathering (rounded feathers). 16 weeks is about the time that birds can begin to lay, and when they are close, their combs and wattles redden, like your Leghorn. She looks very close!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Yes, at 4 months of age, they look to be females.

How can you tell?

First, age and then comb size and color.
Males get larger red combs weeks earlier than females. (If it is large and red before 12 weeks, it is almost always male).

Females don't get any size of comb or reddening until point of lay. For the commercial breeds, or faster maturing breeds, like your Brown Leghorn pullet, that is about 4 months of age (16 to 18 weeks).

Your Easter Egger is a slower maturing hybrid. It also has a pea comb, which is a smaller comb type. EEs don't get fleshier, redder combs until about 5 to 6 months of age, when they come into lay. Pea combs can be hard to tell development. Usually, not always, 3 clear rows of peas indicates male. 1 main row down the middle with 2 small outside rows indicates female. Also, your EE is the common female pattern type, which leads us to feather patterns.

Second, feather patterns.
As the birds mature, their sex hormones kick in. The estrogen in the female keeps the feathers soft and round and fluffy. Females will have more even color tone in whatever color pattern they have. Tails are rounder.

Males will begin to get sharp spiky feathers in what is called the saddle area, which is just before the tail on the back. They look like streamers cascading down off the back.

Their tail feathers will begin to grow and a few will form a sickle.

Males will also get quilt like color blocks often with red on the wing bows. If you see red develop on the wing bows, it is almost always male.

I'll post a link with a diagram to show what I mean. BTW, while more aggressive or assertive behavior can indicate male, as well as thicker legs, plenty of pullets can be snotty and have full legs. I find comb size and color according to age, then secondary feathers the best clues.
LofMc

http://articles.extension.org/pages/66114/how-can-i-distinguish-male-and-female-

 

[Carmouche]

Pullets

How do we tell?
well,
1. Any bird that has a red comb and wattles before laying age, is a cockerel.
2. At 12 weeks, males will develop pointy saddle, hackle, and sickle feathers.

Your girls have all female feathering (rounded feathers). 16 weeks is about the time that birds can begin to lay, and when they are close, their combs and wattles redden, like your Leghorn. She looks very close!

Thank you for the information. Of the 7 hens I have, none have started laying yet. This is so good to hear. I thought I had a bunch of broken chickens. Lol

 

[Carmouche]

Yes, at 4 months of age, they look to be females.

How can you tell?

First, age and then comb size and color.
Males get larger red combs weeks earlier than females. (If it is large and red before 12 weeks, it is almost always male).

Females don't get any size of comb or reddening until point of lay. For the commercial breeds, or faster maturing breeds, like your Brown Leghorn pullet, that is about 4 months of age (16 to 18 weeks).

Your Easter Egger is a slower maturing hybrid. It also has a pea comb, which is a smaller comb type. EEs don't get fleshier, redder combs until about 5 to 6 months of age, when they come into lay. Pea combs can be hard to tell development. Usually, not always, 3 clear rows of peas indicates male. 1 main row down the middle with 2 small outside rows indicates female. Also, your EE is the common female pattern type, which leads us to feather patterns.

Second, feather patterns.
As the birds mature, their sex hormones kick in. The estrogen in the female keeps the feathers soft and round and fluffy. Females will have more even color tone in whatever color pattern they have. Tails are rounder.

Males will begin to get sharp spiky feathers in what is called the saddle area, which is just before the tail on the back. They look like streamers cascading down off the back.

Their tail feathers will begin to grow and a few will form a sickle.

Males will also get quilt like color blocks often with red on the wing bows. If you see red develop on the wing bows, it is almost always male.

I'll post a link with a diagram to show what I mean. BTW, while more aggressive or assertive behavior can indicate male, as well as thicker legs, plenty of pullets can be snotty and have full legs. I find comb size and color according to age, then secondary feathers the best clues.
LofMc

http://articles.extension.org/pages/66114/how-can-i-distinguish-male-and-female-

Thank you for this information. This is exactly what I was looking for.

 

[drumstick diva]

agree with Sourland.

 

[Melissacoop]

Oh no ! Do you think I have a male(s)?? I’ve had them for 9 weeks and they were tiny chicks when I got them.5-7 days old. They seem big and two have bigger combs than the others. One is pretty red and has bigger legs than the other of the same breed. I really hope not. How can I tell? None of them are making any different noises than the others. They all come to me when I call them. They are very friendly.