Male or female?

[kellyokelly]

Hello. We picked up our girls last week at a local hatchery. They were older than what we wanted but they told us that’s what they had and we had driven 90 minutes so we took them. They assured me they were all girls but now I think they’re not. Would any of you be able to tell by looking at them?

the black one looking to the left is an Australorp. The 2 brownish ones and the yellow one are ameracaunas, the reddish one is a Rhode Island Red, the black one looking to the right is a Barred Rock.

Thank you!

 

[Lemon-Drop]

The only one that could possibly be cockerel in my mind is the whitish one, only because it’s comb is reddish.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I agree, they all look female so far except the white one. Do you know their age?

 

[kellyokelly]

I agree, they all look female so far except the white one. Do you know their age?

This is what they told me:
The black one looking to the left is an Australorp (2 weeks now). The 2 brownish ones and the yellow one are ameracaunas (3 weeks now), the reddish one is a Rhode Island Red (2 weeks now), the black one looking to the right is a Barred Rock (2 weeks now).

After doing a little research, it seems they told me they were younger than they actually were. But, I'm a newbie so I could be totally wrong!

 

[Chookchicken]

I agree, the white one is the only cockerel at the moment. Post again when they are 6 weeks old as they are still a little young.

 

[kellyokelly]

Thank you! I was afraid most of them were going to be male. What do you do with your males if you can't keep them? Our city ordinance doesn't allow roosters.

 

[Chookchicken]

Thank you! I was afraid most of them were going to be male. What do you do with your males if you can't keep them? Our city ordinance doesn't allow roosters.

Your best chance is to try and give them to someone for free. People like to use Craig’s list. There is an option on BYC called “Animal in need of free re-homing” but that very rarely works out.

 

[kellyokelly]

Your best chance is to try and give them to someone for free. People like to use Craig’s list. There is an option on BYC called “Animal in need of free re-homing” but that very rarely works out.

Thank you!

 

[kellyokelly]

Is it pretty obvious it’s a cockerel? Should I give it a few more weeks before I find him a home or is there no point in hoping it’s a female?

 

[Chookchicken]

Is it pretty obvious it’s a cockerel? Should I give it a few more weeks before I find him a home or is there no point in hoping it’s a female?

Yes, it’s very obvious he’s a cockerel, I want to try and give you hope but I know that it would just be smashed. The only thing I can recommend to make the load seem less is to wait till the others are at least 6 weeks then post again, because if you have more then one rooster you can work on getting rid of them all at the same time. It is really hard to tell if any of the others are cockerels or pullets, as they are only 2-3 weeks, so it isn’t definite that the rest are pullets. I know what it’s like to have to try and get rid of roosters because of local ordinances, but we are lucky enough to have the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), we pay them to take our roosters and they use them for educating students, putting them up for adoption, giving them to families, and a few other things, they are really helpful, and if by any chance you live in Australia you could see if the RSPCA is willing to take your roosters. I hope everything goes well, and if you have anymore questions I can try and answer them.