How To Tell A Male From A Female!?

[CharlaChicken]

I have been raising my own flock of 23 for about half a 8 months and am wondering if one of my 9-10 month old chickens is a rooster. I keep finding the back of my chickens necks bare along with feathers being lost on their bodies. There are feathers everywhere in the coop. I have tried multiple times to determine if one of my 4 youngest (which 3 of them are the same breed) is a rooster. I know based off their breed that 1 of them are laying. They have showed no signs of aggression towards me or my children. The rest of my 21 chickens are no doubt about it female. Any information on how to tell between a Male and Female would be amazing. Thanks!

 

[nuthatched]

Can you post pictures if the bird in question?
Male birds will have long and pointed feathers on the neck and on either side of the tail, big comb and waddles, red wing patches if the has red somewhere on the genes.

 

[Blue is my chicken]

Pictures please

This is one of my roosters I labelled some of the parts

Hope this helps

 

[wrathsfarm]

When they're young....

Little guy on the left at 7 weeks.

And a thorn in between 2 roses.

Blurry pics I know but sometimes them boys stand right out early.

 

[Altairsky]

With those wattles he's a boy.

 

[Blue is my chicken]

With those wattles he's a boy.

The person who made the thread has not replied back yet

 

[Ridgerunner]

I have been raising my own flock of 23 for about half a 8 months and am wondering if one of my 9-10 month old chickens is a rooster. I keep finding the back of my chickens necks bare along with feathers being lost on their bodies. There are feathers everywhere in the coop.

You don't say where you are. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere that feather loss could easily be from the molt. Some pullets skip the molt their first Fall/Winter but some don't. Feathers everywhere in the coop generally means a molt.

Any information on how to tell between a Male and Female would be amazing.

What breeds do you have? Most should be pretty easy to tell at that age but some, like Silkies, can be a problem.

You can't go that much by combs and wattles at that age. Early on the boys combs and wattles grow bigger and turn red, but by that age the girls can have some pretty impressive and red combs and wattles.

The boys generally grow bigger than the girls by that age. Generally, but not always. I've seen some remarkable differences in sizes or boys at that age, even the same age and breed. Some breeds are just different sizes too, which makes it harder if they are various breeds. Still, size can be a very good clue.

Boys tend to have longer and heavier legs than the girls. Again, different breeds can have big differences but this is one I use a lot.

Boys tend to have an upright posture while the girls are more bent over. And many boys have a different conformation (body shape) than the girls of the same breed. You get better with both of these with practice but they can be pretty definitive.

Almost from hatch most boys are bolder and more curious. They are the ones that come out to meet you while the girls shyly hang in the back. The boys are the ones that demonstrate personality. People sometimes fall in the trap of picking out the chicks that show personality when they are selecting their chicks when they would be better off selecting from the shy girls in the back.

All of these things are clues. Some of these can be pretty darn definite with many chicks but occasionally you can be misled. But pay attention to the photo above that shows the pointy saddle and hackle feathers. After the juvenile molt they have when they are around 10 to 12 weeks old the saddle and hackle feathers grow in. With the boys they are pointy, with the girls they are rounded and usually not very prominent. They can be different colors or shades too. Again, there can be exceptions. Some boys are what are called "hen-feathered". But if you see pointy feathers like this you have a boy.

If you still have any questions about any of them, post some photos. With younger chickens I'd want a close-up photo of the head showing comb and wattles. That could still be helpful but what I'd really like to see at that age is a shot showing the legs, posture, and body conformation. A close-up of saddle and hackle feathers could be really useful.

 

[CharlaChicken]

You don't say where you are. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere that feather loss could easily be from the molt. Some pullets skip the molt their first Fall/Winter but some don't. Feathers everywhere in the coop generally means a molt.


What breeds do you have? Most should be pretty easy to tell at that age but some, like Silkies, can be a problem.

You can't go that much by combs and wattles at that age. Early on the boys combs and wattles grow bigger and turn red, but by that age the girls can have some pretty impressive and red combs and wattles.

The boys generally grow bigger than the girls by that age. Generally, but not always. I've seen some remarkable differences in sizes or boys at that age, even the same age and breed. Some breeds are just different sizes too, which makes it harder if they are various breeds. Still, size can be a very good clue.

Boys tend to have longer and heavier legs than the girls. Again, different breeds can have big differences but this is one I use a lot.

Boys tend to have an upright posture while the girls are more bent over. And many boys have a different conformation (body shape) than the girls of the same breed. You get better with both of these with practice but they can be pretty definitive.

Almost from hatch most boys are bolder and more curious. They are the ones that come out to meet you while the girls shyly hang in the back. The boys are the ones that demonstrate personality. People sometimes fall in the trap of picking out the chicks that show personality when they are selecting their chicks when they would be better off selecting from the shy girls in the back.

All of these things are clues. Some of these can be pretty darn definite with many chicks but occasionally you can be misled. But pay attention to the photo above that shows the pointy saddle and hackle feathers. After the juvenile molt they have when they are around 10 to 12 weeks old the saddle and hackle feathers grow in. With the boys they are pointy, with the girls they are rounded and usually not very prominent. They can be different colors or shades too. Again, there can be exceptions. Some boys are what are called "hen-feathered". But if you see pointy feathers like this you have a boy.

If you still have any questions about any of them, post some photos. With younger chickens I'd want a close-up photo of the head showing comb and wattles. That could still be helpful but what I'd really like to see at that age is a shot showing the legs, posture, and body conformation. A close-up of saddle and hackle feathers could be really useful.

We think they are French black copper marans but we aren’t certain

 

[wrathsfarm]

We think they are French black copper marans but we aren’t certain

First pic is a female BCM and looks like I see leg feathering which is French variety. Altho, it does look very sparce or getting plucked.

Second pic is a female also...Blue Copper possibly or a mix. Comb looks wrong. Should be a straight comb like the BCM. I don't see leg feathering on this one which leads to the mix guess also but confirm this. It could be just sparse/plucked also and I can't see it.

Closer pic please of this one's head/comb.