Need help with mystery crower - Buff Orpington or Black Australorp

[swmalone]

Or they just do like they did this morning and no one crows, then of course the one I think is most likely my roo goes and sings a lovely egg song today. So all three have sang the song, I have only received one deformed egg so far, and that was a couple of days ago, and I'm still no closer to discovering my mystery crower.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

This may help, or it may not. For comparisons sake, her is a pic of a buff colored rooster. This guy is a BO x Silkie, but he shows the difference between the buff hen and rooster colors. He looks simialr to the BO roo I used to have except for the feathered legs. You'll also notice the well developed saddle feathers. He was feathered this way well before 4 months old. Id bet your BO is a girl.

 

[goldeneggtees]

I'll sign on to this thread to find out fer sure which is which. I'd say your buff is a girl and the australorp is the one crowing. you'll be able to tell very soon.

 

[swmalone]

So I guess the other question I need to ask is if roosters sing the egg song? I have heard of hens that make attempts at crowing, but not sure about the other way around. I have all three of my chickens that make varied attempts at the egg song now. The bawk bawk bawk BAGAWK BAGAWK, repeat. Or something like that anyways. It would be so much easier if I just found 3 eggs in there.

 

[horsecrazychicklovingkid]

Now this is a tricky situation. I think that a hen crow is probably your best guess because they all three look like hens to me. The BO has no sickles and I don't see the apearance of saddle feathers so I am thinking hen. The australorp has no sickles which it should by now and has a small comb and wattles which is uncommon for australorps. The sex link is a pullet for sure so where does that leave you? A hen crow. It sometimes happens when there is no roosters around and a hen will kind of take over the job of crowing without a roo to do it. If you get another egg do some research and I bet you could find out who laid by the color. Too bad the first was soft shelled.

 

[roysnider]

The two pictures that show the tail feathers (the buff and one of the black ones) are both hens since they do not have the sickle feathers which a rooster would have even at 16 weeks of age. The comb and wattle is a little larger than that shown in the American Standard of Perfection book but if they are from a hatchery than they may have larger combs and wattles. The Orphington and Australorp cockerel / rooster will have defined sickle feather and carry their tails more upright than a hen would. They would also have sharp, pointed, longer hackle feather than the hens would. What sort of crow did you hear? Hens will make all kinds of noise when they lay their egg or when they get scared or in a fight with another hen. The Australorp lays a tinted egg. The Orphington lays a light brown to a dark brown egg. The soft shell is common when a hen is just beginning to lay and also when she is not getting enough calcuim. When you cook yourself some eggs, wash out the shell and bake them in the oven, crush them and you can feed them to the hens. The baking of them takes away the taste and they will not pic up the habit of eating them. We had a hen lay one in a big thunderstorm. we laughed and said the storm scared it out of her. She had been laying for a good year and hasn't laid another soft shell since then. Good luck!

 

[swmalone]

I thought all of mine would lay brown eggs, so I don't know if I would be able to figure out who laid it unless I spy more than I already do. I'm glad everyone seems to love a good mystery, I have received a lot more feedback on this than I ever thought I would. If I lived out in the country this wouldn't even have come up because I wouldn't have cared if one I thought was a pullet was a cockerel, but alas, the joys of living in town.

 

[horsecrazychicklovingkid]

In answer to your question i have a buff chantecler who sings the egg song and sits in the nest. just because one is in the nest doesn't mean it is a hen. once i let my buff chantecler roo, 2 buckeye hens, and 2 andalusian hens outside to run around. none of them had laid yet that day. i was walking by and twice i saw one of the hens standing next to my roo and squawking, after they did that the roo would get down in a likely nesting place and sit for a while, later I would find an egg there from the hen. I think that the hens asked the roo to go and check out the place they wanted to lay to make sure it was safe for them. Roos will usually sit in the nest to make sure it is safe for the hens, so if one is in the nest it doesn't necesarilly mean they are the hen.

 

[TroutsChicks]

I point the finger at that astralorp! It looks like mine, that i am 95 % sure is my mystery crower just like yours. I like to give my girls a light pat on their sides. They cluck the astralorp makes a crow like noise, not lady-like at all. maybe you should "grab" it and see! I am still waiting to catch it in the act though. gl

 

[horsecrazychicklovingkid]

I know it sounds mean but sneak up on each of them and grab them and the roos usually make a different squawk than the hens. The roos usually act more buff when you try to catch them and if you take your finger and point at their chests sometimes roos will buff up at it even poke it a litlle and see how each one reacts. Do any of them have spurs coming on more than the others? Spurs are usually an indication of sex. Also, look for whichever one really struts around more than the others. I hope this helps.