is it a boy

[bekki]

hi we have a standard laying chicken and a barred rock and we think the barred may be a boy if it is what age can they start to breed as it has tried to mount the other chicken witch we know is a girl as it has been laying for a while and is also older that the barred. please help

 

[Morgaine]

How old is the chicken? If it is a rooster it will have longer and more pointed feathers on its neck and back. If it's old enough to breed it may start crowing soon. I have also noticed that roosters have thicker legs than hens. Posting a picture would be helpfull too.

 

[bekki]

well it about 5 month old but this being the first time ive kept chickens im a little confused

 

[Morgaine]

If he has long feathers along his neck and back and long tail feathers it is a rooster. Have you tried looking at feathersite.com and comparing your chickens to the ones on there?

 

[bekki]

no i havent ill give that a try but it seems to be moulting at to moment so i dont know if that makes a difference

 

[klf73]

if you can post a pic we can tell you

 

[jossanne]

I know that I'm getting eggs made fertile by my 8mo old roosters. I think they've been fertile since at least 6 months old.

 

[jossanne]

Oh, and you can look at the eggs when you crack them to see if they're fertile or not.

All egg yolks have a small white dot on them, I think it's a blastoma. That might not be the right term, but it's on all egg yolks. If it's a tiny, round dot, it's not fertile. If it looks more like a bullseye, it is fertile.

Here's a link with some really good info and pictures for telling a fertile egg from a non-fertile one:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008

You can figure out for yourself if your rooster is fertilizing the eggs or not!

Good luck, and let us know the answer, please.

 

[bekki]

hi all just to let you know its a boy he started crowing and his spur buds are getting huge thankyou for all the help