hens or roosters? please help

[4eggsonly]

Well, I am sad to say that when I went out to check on the chickens this morning, I heard a rooster's crow. Well, kind of like a rooster's crow. It was a bit off key. LOL! Anyway, it turned out to be my favorite one. He is the most friendly out of the bunch. Its one that I thought for sure was a hen. Everybody else that looked at the pictures thought so too. I don't know what to do. My boyfriend is making jokes about it because he said which ever chickens turns out to be roosters will be dinner

. There is no way I can do that. Gosh, I sure hope that no more of them starts to crow.

 

[chickenarmy]

#2 is roo. So sweet...
The rest seem to be hens. Positive about 4 and 5. They will be loyal best friends like my bantams. Smart chickens...
Not sure about 6 though. Good Luck! Patience is the key to know for sure!
P.S.

 

[chickenarmy]

Ack!!!!!! Don't eat the the roo. Keep one at least! I beg you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If it is friendly keep it! Friendly roosters are good. I had one named Pecky

 

[Puddin Fluff]

The choice of whether he is dinner is his personality. If he is sweet, keep him, if he is a jerk, eat him, or at least rehome him and let someone else do it.

 

[4eggsonly]

That sounds good, because he is sweet. He is so friendly (so far). I hope he doesn't change.

 

[cary 1973]

are you sure it was a crow i know when lilly started to get her big girl voice there was afew times a weard sound came out but shes a girl so dont make dinner till you know 100%

 

[donrae]

Of your first pics 2 and possibly 6 are roosters. You already know about two, and in the future any bird colored like that with the red patches on the shoulders is a rooster. 6s legs look thick, I'm not sure how old it was when the pic was taken cause there's not much comb but some shading on the wing shows it could be a boy.

The little red ones need better pics to say for sure. They were too young in those pics to really tell.

Sorry to say, we could have almost told you 2 was a roo just by the statement of it is the friendliest and your favorite lol. Those are always the boy chicks.

Most young birds have spur nubs, so those aren't a reliable sex indicator. Roosters often don't grow spurs until after 6 months, and some hens grow spurs also. Crowing, on the other hand, is a pretty reliable indicator of sex.

 

[4eggsonly]

Ok, I went out and got a few more pics. These pics are focused on the body and tail area. Two of the red ones have a couple of black/green feathers on the tail. It was hard to get the camera focused good enough to show them. The picture above shows how this buff colored chicken has like a puffed up tail area.


Red comb and wattles and a couple of those green/black tail feathers. This is the one that I have been thinking is a rooster. The feet look small though.



This one puzzles me. Tannish comb, small feet, and a couple of those green/black tail feathers. Seems to have mixed sex characteristics. I see some feathers that look pointed and some rounded, but I can't tell if they're wing or saddle feathers.

I really think this one is a hen.


Ok, this one is a hen I believe. No comb or wattle, small feet, but it has those few green/black tail feathers.

Here is a better shot of those tail feathers. These are all mixed breed chickens, so I don't know if those green/black tail feathers are a breed characteristic as well as a sex characteristic. These pictures were taken yesterday, July 6th. They range in age from about 9 to 11 weeks old. Thats definitely approximate, because the lady at the feed store couldn't remember and there was a mix of different ages in there.

 

[Puddin Fluff]

I would agree about the red with the red comb and wattles: Roo. The others, I am with you, not sure esp. since they are a mixed bird. good luck! I enjoy seeing the updated pics.

 

[dretd]

#2 and prob #4 (the one on the left of the pair has a comb that is much pinker and larger than its friend) both look like roos, not sure on the others yet but nothing distinclty rooish.