Rooster or Hen?

hbrady

Hatching
6 Years
Jan 16, 2014
3
0
9
NO EXPERIENCE - I have no idea what age or breed, but I believe it to be an Easter Egger.
My brother bought it home after visiting a friends farm. They believed it to be a hen and he was told that they lay the blue eggs.
This was about a month ago and the look has not changed overly much.
POSSIBLY 2-4 months (guess)

Please help..
 
Last edited:
looks like a hen, but its kinda hard to see. Next time you look at her check the shape of the feathers on the neck and saddle. Males grow pointed feather tips, females appear more blunted and wont have those hanging saddle feathers like males. If she is a lone chicken waddle/comb color will be a poor indicator. The body type suggests hen.

Check the tail 2 most vertical tail feathers, do either of them appear sickle shaped?
 
I just attempted to take some more photos but she/he now thinks I'm trying to put it back in the coop.
Thank you very much for your expertise.
All the tail feathers appear to be straight not sickle shaped to me.




Cannot really tell re: the neck and saddle i don't really understand what to look for.
 
Last edited:
Depending on the age, I'd say that's a pullet that will lay her first egg soon.

Look at these photos of roosters:
Look at the very long, skinny, shiny, pointy feathers on their necks and hanging down over their back. The neck feathers are hackle feathers, and the "chains" hanging down their backs are saddle feathers.

You can really see the saddle feathers on this guy! Also look at the coloring. See how the rooster here and the one above have "patchy" coloring? Their hackles, saddle feathers, and wings are a different color than the body, esp. with a dark patch on the shoulder. That's a 100% rooster trait, to have this feather pattern.

This photo shows a good comparison between a hen tail and a rooster tail. See the long, curved feathers on the rooster in the back compared to the short feathers on his daughter in the front? And even though he's all one color, you can still see the points on his hackle feathers.

Chickens of both sexes have spur buds and often a cockerel will not get true spurs until he's over a year old, so spur development is not a good way to sex chickens.

Now, these three boys are all adult roosters. Cockerels that are quite young (younger than 12 weeks) might not show any of this feathering, but will usually show signs in the face of having a much redder comb and wattles than pullets. Older than about 12 weeks these sex-specific feathers will begin to come in, and you'll usually see the tail feathers and the saddle feathers before you'll see the hackle feathers. Sometimes the hackle feathers are hard to see in young birds, but if you hold a white piece of paper under the feather (black paper for white birds) then you can tell if they are pointed or rounded.
 
Last edited:
I'm thinking hen. I'm not especially seeing Easter Egger, but the eggs will tell the story, won't they
lol.png
?
 
I just attempted to take some more photos but she/he now thinks I'm trying to put it back in the coop.
Thank you very much for your expertise.
All the tail feathers appear to be straight not sickle shaped to me.




Cannot really tell re: the neck and saddle i don't really understand what to look for.

Definitely looks like a hen. Is that leg feathering or are the sides of her legs black in the second picture?
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom