She's really a rooster, right?

[TCK]

This is Cluck. My uncle found her scratching up his garden two months ago and brought her to me. She is the catalyst that started me on my backyard chicken journey and for that, I am grateful. I now have 5 chicks that are growing fast.

I figured she was a Rhode Island Red or New Hampshire Red and I've seen pictures of RIR hens where the combs and wattles are pretty big. She doesn't have any spurs and she was pretty friendly and sometimes a little skittish. Her tail feathers were kind of messed up so I couldn't tell by that.

But, yesterday, I heard her crow a few times. It was kind of a weak crow, not a full on cock-a-doodle-doo at the top of her lungs, but still a crow. She stopped when I went outside. Well, I've read that some hens do crow but to make sure, I decided to find out more about rooster traits. Well, I looked at her saddle feathers and they look pretty pointy. She crowed again today too, about 10 minutes ago, but stopped when I went outside. It sounded a bit more rooster-y and I'm worried. I took some pictures. Could you help me determine if she's a rooster or a hen? Thank you for your time! Let me know if you need more or better pictures. My cell phone isn't that great but I might be able to procure a better camera from somewhere.

 

[Dustin Biery]

Yep, without a doubt!

 

[Katy]

Yes, she is a he.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I take it 'she' was a baby when you got 'her'? Sorry to say that yes, it is a boy.

 

[TCK]

Oh no, Cluck was full-grown when I got him. I assume he was just wandering the streets when he flew into my uncle's yard. I guess I kind of assumed he was a 'she' because of the lack of spurs and aggression and I figured he wasn't laying because of stress or his molt. We live in the suburbs and while hens are allowed, roosters are not. He's normally pretty quiet except for clucks and this is the first time I've heard him crow in the two months I've had him.

It's kind of funny. I read a story about a family finding a chicken on the street in my city on the California Chickens Yahoo group that was dated from 2007. It also looked like an RIR (different coloring from Cluck though) and they kept it for a few weeks until it started crowing and they had to rehome him.

Thank you for your help, everyone!

 

[sonew123]

he :-(