I think my hens are roosters...

AbiDeedles

In the Brooder
7 Years
Apr 29, 2012
27
6
26
Bargersville, Indiana
I bought six "sex-linked amber rock pullets" (RIR/PR hybrid) from Tractor Supply. Once they started to get their wattles and combs I started to get this sneaky suspicion that they were roosters and not hens. The older and taller they get, the more I suspect it. They are almost 4 months old and someone started crowing about 6 weeks ago. I know that hens can crow from time to time, and I just told everyone that's what it was. Every day at 6a, someone does half of a crow that sounds like a child laughing. I've heard them in the evening every once in a while as well. They are very beautiful and we love them, so this really sucks. I have only these six and nothing else to compare them to so I can't base their size against something else.

Here's the real kicker... I think they have spars coming in! While looking at their ankles today I noticed that they have a large round scale on the inside that I hadn't noticed before. The older ones are starting to poke out further than the younger ones. I looked really hard to see if any chicken didn't have these.. and every single one does!

SO... what do you think? All six roosters?? Pictures are located below. I live in a very rural farming town, but in a neighborhood, so I don't think my neighbors will be appreciative of growing crows.
 
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We really can't help without pics. 4 months is when a lot of production bred pullets start getting larger redder combs and wattles. Are they all some sort of gold/brown/red color? If they are sex links and goldish colored, they're hens. Roosters are white/silver based.

Course, crowing is pretty indicitive of a rooster. Folks here talk about hens crowing but it's really, really uncommon.

Spur development is not an indicator of sex. Lots of hens grow spurs.

Do your birds have long, shiney feathers from the neck or saddle area? Those are roo indicators.
 

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