My "Hens" Started Crowing! Please help!

[citycountrygirl]

Haha! What LUCK! I'm just sad to see them go. They really are super friendly, but our neighbors would be less than thrilled if we kept them. We also have a few red sex links, a couple of buffs, and a silver laced wyandotte. The buffs are really lovable too! To add to my luck, I'm also thinking my silver laced wyandotte is a roo too. "She's" only 8 weeks and has long waddles and the start of a prominant comb!

 

[CowGrrrl]

It seems chickens love to break our hearts.

 

[freakshow5]

I have a hen( well I think its a hen) that has started to crow off and on, She does t

his mostly when I enter the enclosed chicken area, she is also the biggest "hen" of all my hens. I'm now wondering if she is a he any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[chrisnjenny]

I do believe thats a boy... but dont take my word for it! :/

 

[BantamLover21]

I have a hen( well I think its a hen) that has started to crow off and on, She does this mostly when I enter the enclosed chicken area, she is also the biggest "hen" of all my hens. I'm now wondering if she is a he any help would be greatly appreciated

That is a rooster.

 

[speckledhen]

Lesson in saddle feathers here, pointy, skinny shiny ones being a male trait, in ALL breeds (other than very rare hen feathered breeds), a MUCH better indicator of sex than comb and wattles. These can start to appear around 12 weeks of age, give or take a week or so.

Note the hanging fringe in the photos of two different breeds. In this area, hens have rounded feathers that just lay, not hang over pointy like that. In some breeds, like Wyandottes, the male hackles are actually more solid colored while the females have regularly laced feathers.

 

[ThePRfan]

Over the past few weeks, we've noticed some crowing in the wee hours of the morning. However, we can't locate the culprit, but we *might* have it narrowed down to one of two. I have two black "hens" that are supposed to be the same breed and age, but they have different comb and wattle development. Are they both Roos or just one of them? We know at least one of them has more aggressive behavior, but because they are far away when we notice the behavior, it's hard to tell which is which! They are about 16 - 17 weeks.


Hen "A"... (notice her wattles and comb)




Side by side... Hen A is on the left and Hen B is on the right



Hen B. Hen A is in upper corner.



Hen B... notice her wattles and comb compared to Hen A



Hen B



Hen B

None of those are hens.

 

[freakshow5]

What happens now, I thought I was getting all hens. How does this effect the hens cause he's an Araucana and some of my hens are Rhode Island red, Orpington?

 

[speckledhen]

What happens now, I thought I was getting all hens. How does this effect the hens cause he's an Araucana and some of my hens are Rhode Island red, Orpington?

It doesn't really affect the hens other than they have a rooster in their midst who will insist on mating them and produce fertile eggs for you to hatch mixed breed chicks.

And he's not an Araucana. I can't tell from the photo if he's an Easter Egger or a odd colored Wyandotte cross. The comb is hard to gauge as pea or rose on the photos. Could be my eyes, but definitely not an Araucana, which is a very rare breed.

 

[freakshow5]

The place that I ordered all my chicks from had told me they were Araucana. They were also all supposed to be hens as well. I'm new to raising chickens, would I know by now if any of my other chickens are roosters