My Cuckoo Marans - hen or rooster?

[Gasthaus Luther]

Hello! I have 3 hens - or so I hope! This morning I woke up to what I thought sounded a bit like a “crow” vs the typical hen sound and I am confident it came from the Marans. My hens are 11 weeks. I have a Cuckoo Marans, Russian Orloff and a Welsumer.
If you think she is a he, please explain why. Thank you so much!

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Hello! I have 3 hens - or so I hope! This morning I woke up to what I thought sounded a bit like a “crow” vs the typical hen sound and I am confident it came from the Marans. My hens are 11 weeks. I have a Cuckoo Marans, Russian Orloff and a Welsumer.
If you think she is a he, please explain why. Thank you so much!

Your Marans is a cockerel. Comb development and male saddle feathers. Also in barred birds, the females tend to be darker in color.
The other two are pullets. Welcome to BYC

 

[Reliablesquirrel]

I’m not an expert, but I think roo.
1. He has a quite a prominent comb for
11 weeks.
2. IMO the tail looks like a roosters tail.
Also, you can see saddle feathers.
3. In cuckoo marans, hens tend to have
more black than white, and Roos are
vice versa. For example a pullet of the
same age would typically look more
like this:

(Got this picture off the internet)

 

[Gasthaus Luther]

Your Marans is a cockerel. Comb development and male saddle feathers. Also in barred birds, the females tend to be darker in color.
The other two are pullets. Welcome to BYC

I’m so sad! What are male saddle feathers?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

They are the pointy feathers at the base of the tail. A little hard to see in a barred bird but I can see it in your last photo here:

Sorry, we have all been there.

 

[McChooky]

The Marans appears to have saddle and tail feathers .The comb and wattles are large too.

 

[Gasthaus Luther]

They are the pointy feathers at the base of the tail. A little hard to see in a barred bird but I can see it in your last photo here:
View attachment 2764309
Sorry, we have all been there.

Thank you!!

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hello! I have 3 hens - or so I hope! This morning I woke up to what I thought sounded a bit like a “crow” vs the typical hen sound and I am confident it came from the Marans. My hens are 11 weeks. I have a Cuckoo Marans, Russian Orloff and a Welsumer.
If you think she is a he, please explain why. Thank you so much!

He's a cockerel.

 

[McChooky]

Thank you!!

...if you decide not to keep him BYC has several threads where members list what they have to sale,swap or give away. My own search for a white,black or barred rooster in southern WV has been unsuccessful so far but I see a lot listed in other states! We either have too many roos or can't find one when we need it.

 

[Gasthaus Luther]

Thank you! Sadly we’re in “The OC” of CA - suburbs 25 miles from Lis Angeles, so not many options nearby but I’m looking. However I’ll post here on BYC and hope for the best.