Rooster or Hen OMG!!

[Chuckkeeper]

I purchased a straight run this spring of Rhode Island Reds. My fear is I think I got 12 roosters!!!! I usually can tell the difference by the size of their legs/feet, comb, and tail feathers. But I am really stumped with this gang of juvenile delinquents. Is a RIR hen comb really small or can it be almost the same size of a rooster? My chickens are approaching 5 months old and have some major ugliness between the reds and my 3 younger orpington hens. I actually fear for their lives. I know I have to do some butchering immediately but do not want to dispatch hens by mistaken identity. Although the chorus of crowing is very entertaining! They got to go!

I'm not very experienced but if it helps this is my RIR about 4m old. The community on here has been a bit split between roo/pull.

 

[Mamatomany123]

This is how the hatcheries get rid of all those males that they can't sell any other way. They toss them in with any females that didn't sell so there is NO WAY the ratio in any TSC straight run bin is 50/50 unless they are bantams. It will be more like you have a 5% of getting a female. AND the hatchery sells SR chicks for slight more than if you knew you were buying males.

My tractor supply actually told me they did this. I have 11 chickens, 4 are sexlinks so I knew they were female but 7 were in the pullet bin and were all pullets. I was contemplating getting a cockerel and asked where the male bin was. They told me all of the males were in the straight run. Sometimes you'll end up with a female if shes sexed wrong but the males get put into the straight run.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

All male. Someone totally duped you.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I'm not very experienced but if it helps this is my RIR about 4m old. The community on here has been a bit split between roo/pull.
View attachment 2306929

Boy.

 

[CHlCKEN]

I'm not very experienced but if it helps this is my RIR about 4m old. The community on here has been a bit split between roo/pull.
View attachment 2306929

Ya that is hard... however I’m saying pullet. My pullets are Easter Eggers and they have the tail feathers of a cockrel, but this is normal for young Easter egger pullets. It happens bc they don’t have all the tail feathers in yet so the ones that curve down show up. I’m going to say this may have happend to you girl, and I’m going to say pullet, because the comb and wattle match that of a female RIR of her age

 

[Chuckkeeper]

Ya that is hard... however I’m saying pullet. My pullets are Easter Eggers and they have the tail feathers of a cockrel, but this is normal for young Easter egger pullets. It happens bc they don’t have all the tail feathers in yet so the ones that curve down show up. I’m going to say this may have happend to you girl, and I’m going to say pullet, because the comb and wattle match that of a female RIR of her age

Boy.

Ya that is hard... however I’m saying pullet. My pullets are Easter Eggers and they have the tail feathers of a cockrel, but this is normal for young Easter egger pullets. It happens bc they don’t have all the tail feathers in yet so the ones that curve down show up. I’m going to say this may have happend to you girl, and I’m going to say pullet, because the comb and wattle match that of a female RIR of her age

Thanks both. The uncertainty continues into another week. Hopefully he/she will put me out of my misery soon!!

 

[The Happster]

Thanks both. The uncertainty continues into another week. Hopefully he/she will put me out of my misery soon!!

Both of them seem like cockerels that are a bit stunted actually.
The comb growth is just like a pullet of that age, and I don't see any male feathering, but the face does say male on both.
I'm so confused ahha.

 

[Chuckkeeper]

Both of them seem like cockerels that are a bit stunted actually.
The comb growth is just like a pullet of that age, and I don't see any male feathering, but the face does say male on both.
I'm so confused ahha.

AHH I'm so nervous about how this turns out! I keep comparing them to my confirmed roo's comb for reassurance!

 

[The Happster]

You gotta keep young master George. Cutest little boy ever.

 

[Chuckkeeper]

You gotta keep young master George. Cutest little boy ever.

He isn't going anywhere! Here's the 3 as babies (apparently 7wks old!!) too

I can't keep three cockerels!