RIR hen with Spurs!

[Coopnrun]

I picked up a couple RIR hens from a breeder the other day and when I got home I noticed one had 1 1/2 inch spurs. These pullers are 5-6 months old and look identical besides the spur on the one. Sent a picture to breeder and he assured me it was a hen. He was willing to trade it out if I wanted but said it was a hen. Does this happen often?

 

[1cock2hens]

yes, hens have spurs all the time. 1.5 inches seems long for a 6 month old pullet though.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, hope you are enjoying BYC!

I agree with the above poster. Never seen spurs that long at that age even on males. Can you post pics?

 

[LilJoe]

Might actually be an older hen...

 

[Coopnrun]

Actually the breeder, once he saw the pic, said that one might be older but he would trade it out. Not wanting to make the hour plus drive back to his farm I told him I would keep it as long as it was a hen. Today the hen in question layed an egg. Guess it's really a hen!
I truly have read and read post after post here and elsewhere and still feel like I know little about raising chickens! Funny, it's kind of like when we brought home our first child!

 

[1cock2hens]

lol, I still learn new things about chickens all the time and i have been involved with raising them for nearly 20 years.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Guess it's really a hen!

I would expect her to molt this winter, as indicated by the length of the spurs.

Glad it is a hen though!

Even though I think, the seller completely misrepresented themselves and probably knew were driving that far... and all breeders should check their birds on the way out... NO WAY not to notice spurs as a "breeder" and KNOW it isn't a pullet. At LEAST they didn't pawn off a male on an unsuspecting buyer.

I too have been raising chickens for about 8 years now... and STILL learning stuff! BYC is awesome.