Shouldn't I know by now?

[CatUT]

I have just started this whole chicken thing this year. We got 10 chicks (5 buff orpingtons and 5 EE's). We lost one to some strange chicken thing and one of out buffs was a rooster and really mean so he went to freezer camp. We decided to cull down to 6 hens. A friend of mine purchased two (a buff and and EE) just last week. All the chicks are about 18 weeks and the wattles and combs are really getting red. My friend just called up and said that the EE is starting to crow. Shouldn't I have known by now if one is a rooster or not? The EE's are all the same size and the combs are all the tiny pea comb thing. No big obvious comb or tail feather. Nothing like the Buff that was our rooster. Should I just tell her to wait a bit or what? I feel really bad. We're not allowed roosters in our area.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

First, let me say

I'm glad you joined us.

And, from what I've been reading and seeing on here, sometimes it can be tricky with EEs determining gender...

 

[CatUT]

I would have thought that too, but the silly things are just over 4 months old. They're supposed to start laying in the next few weeks. I would have thought that by now I'd know the roosters from the hens. I've heard about hen's attempting to crow in a coop that doesn't have a rooster. Can that really happen?

 

[bullyforme]

if he's crowing, he's a roo. Hens may squawk louder if there's no roo, but not really crow. EEs don't have huge combs, in fact some look smaller than a hen of a different breed. they are very tricky to sex, "you only know when they crow." Check their stance, tails & heads up vs. hens with tails and heads down or lateral. At that age you can also notice the tail feathers much more fancy than the hens.

I'm speaking from experience, I noticed these things when three of my four "pullets" started crowing

 

[CatUT]

Well, I guess I'm going to have to go over there and take a look myself. I feel bad so I'll give my friend a refund for the rooster if it actually is one. When I picked her/him out of the flock to sell to my friend, I just grabbed the first one I could get my hands on. They all look alike to me.

 

[CatUT]

I hope I did this right. I took a picture of the chicken in question. She/he looks just like the others I have at my house except the almost black one. Any opinions?

 

[daydreamer92]

I've noticed that roosters tend to have thicker legs than hens; that's how I'm trying to sex my young EEs. I have two that I am pretty sure are roosters, just from the big thick legs.

Otherwise, everyone looks the same. Little combs, no crowing (yet).

 

[poseygrace]

What a pretty chicken! Try posting the pic in the "What Breed/Gender Is This" forum. I've done that before and gotten tons of expert opinions. Good luck and welcome to BYC!

 

[epeloquin]

You are going to hear all kinds of anecdotal stuff about how to know for sure if it is a cockerel (it's not a roo until it is over a year old). The fact is that there are a lot of hens that crow and I've even seen some with a comb like a cockerel or roo. There is only one way to know for sure, for sure...Cockerels don't lay eggs.

Also, 4 months is the early side of when your girls will begin laying. They could start much later...6, 7, 8 months.

I would wait it out with the suspected cockerel.

 

[azpenguin]

We recently gave our next door neighbors a started pair of EE birds. They're about 14 weeks now, and I keep looking at the roo and thinking, "You know, if he wasn't crowing, I'd swear that was a pullet." The bird in the pic you posted stands just like he does. Probably a roo, but don't feel bad, since a) it's hard to tell and b) you're planning to make things right anyways.