Marans Rooster or Hen?

[PTFowl]

This Cuckoo Marans was sexed by Meyer Hatchery as female when hatched about 7 weeks ago. A few days ago he/she started attacking other birds in the flock (all are the same age within a week). Is it a rooster?

 

[Lothiriel]

At 7 weeks with a comb like that, I say cockerel.

 

[chickschool]

I don't know much about the comb but I don't understand why it would start attacking other chickens at a mere 7 weeks regardless of sex.

 

[AccentOnHakes]

Roo for sure!

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Yea, I'm afraid you have a roo.

I bought one last year about this time. Also a sexed pullet but sadly turned out to be a roo as well and he looks just like yours looks. And was challenging all the other hens.

 

[chicks4kids]

Agreed ... Roo for sure

 

[hdowden]

i think pullet. even the pullets will go after each other to estabilish a pecking order...but hatcheries can make mistakes i read about it all the time

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Here was my Poppy at 7 weeks. You can see the similarity to yours. The majority of people on BYC said it was a roo but a few said it was a hen. I held onto the hope that he was a hen until he was 4 1/2 months old when it was finally too obvious to ignore any longer.

I came to learn later that Cuckoo Marans are some of the toughest to sex.

So my advice wold be to let it go a bit longer if you can. But if you are not allowed to keep a rooster, do what you can not to become too attached.

 

[PTFowl]

Thanks all for the input. TSG--the resemblance between Poppy and my Henri/Henrietta is striking. Henri is much bigger and has a far more prominent comb than the other Cuckoo Marans that he was hatched with. The input on this thread plus the visual and behavior factors have me convinced he's a cockerel. I tried putting him back in the coop/yard with the rest of the flock yesterday but he attacked and ended up with another bird's feathers in his mouth before i removed him again. He's separated from the rest of the flock until i can re-home or cull. The fact that he is so aggressive with the other birds makes this easier--it's not worth it to me to stress out or injure the other 14 birds who get along no problem. Even if he is a she i'm not willing to keep such an aggressive bird. When he's alone with me and my dogs without the other birds he is very sweet and does a fine job helping in the gardens.

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

Yep - mine started life as Emmy and has morphed into Rocky. Here's a picture of my Rocky at about the same age:

My first clue was that he was a lot lighter than the pullets - you can see the comparison in the photo. I'm really surprised yours is as aggressive as he is. Rocky is pretty docile and hasn't been exhibiting the behaviors you're describing, and I've been told cuckoo marans are generally pretty laid back. Sorry he's being so aggressive...