NorthWestGelfing
Hatching
- May 30, 2019
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I picked up a 4 hens and a Wyandotte rooster a couple months ago at 10 weeks. Right off the bat, the known Wyandotte roo, Marshal, and a mixed white hen, Silvermist (Marans/Wyandotte?) often would briefly fight, bumping chests, jumping up at each other and leg kicking. Nothing severe, but only between those two and not the other chickens.
The last few weeks, Silvermist has started crowing! Marshal has not. And both her and Marshal are attempting to mount the older hens (C-Peep-3O, Princess Lay-ah & Kylo Hen). They are getting rebuffed and rebuked for their clumsy efforts. But to my new chicken momma eyes, Silver is a hen. I've read that hens can act like roosters in the absence of a roo, but Marshall looks and acts like a rooster, other than the lack of crowing. They are 18 weeks now.
Physically, Silvermist has a little comb, no wattles. No distinctive upright tail feathers like typical roosters. The only thing that might look more too-like is longish feathers at the base of her tail, down the sides. Even those are more, squint your eyes and look sideways to see it.
The lady who sold me the hens looked at these pictures and said she's a hen. (She had offered to trade us a hen if one of the 'hens' turned out to be actually a rooster.) Hubby looks at our flock and says she's a rooster. We had chickens years ago, but when we ended up with an 'extra' roo, we had plenty of hens. Now we only have 7 total chickens, not enough for 2 to be roosters.
So I'm asking the experts, what do you think?
I added pictures of both Marshal and Silvermist for comparison, and a side pic of Silvermist. Also, as a bonus, part of the rest of the flock is in each picture: a couple Australorps and a Buff/Wyandotte mix (maybe. She's the brown puff ball).
The last few weeks, Silvermist has started crowing! Marshal has not. And both her and Marshal are attempting to mount the older hens (C-Peep-3O, Princess Lay-ah & Kylo Hen). They are getting rebuffed and rebuked for their clumsy efforts. But to my new chicken momma eyes, Silver is a hen. I've read that hens can act like roosters in the absence of a roo, but Marshall looks and acts like a rooster, other than the lack of crowing. They are 18 weeks now.
Physically, Silvermist has a little comb, no wattles. No distinctive upright tail feathers like typical roosters. The only thing that might look more too-like is longish feathers at the base of her tail, down the sides. Even those are more, squint your eyes and look sideways to see it.
The lady who sold me the hens looked at these pictures and said she's a hen. (She had offered to trade us a hen if one of the 'hens' turned out to be actually a rooster.) Hubby looks at our flock and says she's a rooster. We had chickens years ago, but when we ended up with an 'extra' roo, we had plenty of hens. Now we only have 7 total chickens, not enough for 2 to be roosters.
So I'm asking the experts, what do you think?
I added pictures of both Marshal and Silvermist for comparison, and a side pic of Silvermist. Also, as a bonus, part of the rest of the flock is in each picture: a couple Australorps and a Buff/Wyandotte mix (maybe. She's the brown puff ball).
Your husband is correct - both are cockerels.
